How Donald Trump Achieved a Breakthrough in Gaza Yet Struggles Regarding Vladimir Putin Concerning Ukraine

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

Just days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is another development in the president's efforts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that truce deal, 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 duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

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

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, admitting that ending the war is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.