Why Trump Achieved a Major Step in the Middle East Yet Struggles Regarding Putin Over Ukraine

Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another twist in Trump's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.