🔗 Share this article

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

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

A initial meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

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

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he said.

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"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 subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.