How Donald Trump Achieved a Major Step in Gaza But Faces Challenges With Putin Concerning Ukraine

Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record 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 Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that ending the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.