🔗 Share this article

Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian presidential meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in Trump's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he declared.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

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

But the Ukrainian leader later made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on calling for a truce along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.