🔗 Share this article

Accounts of an impending US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended 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 two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his decision to move the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with 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 much less influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

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

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – something Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.