🔗 Share this article

Reports of an upcoming US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "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 cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

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

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

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

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat 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 meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Budapest.

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

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

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

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

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

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.