Why Trump Secured a Major Step in Gaza But Faces Challenges Regarding Putin Over the Ukraine Conflict

Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

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

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's move to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader 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 emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

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

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – something Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.