🔗 Share this article

Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing summit is another twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he declared.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader later commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that ending the war is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when neither side wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.