🔗 Share this article

Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation done," he said.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position 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 region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine later commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

During his election campaign previously, Trump promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

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