How Donald Trump Achieved a Major Step in the Middle East Yet Faces Challenges Regarding Putin Over the Ukraine Conflict

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 put off without a new date.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia done," he said.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his first term, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

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

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

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire 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 the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

However the president of Ukraine later commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.