How Trump Achieved a Breakthrough in the Middle East Yet Faces Challenges Regarding Vladimir Putin Concerning Ukraine

Accounts of an impending US-Russia presidential meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russian President Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is another development in the president's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he declared.

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, including his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly 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 warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin 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, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader later made note of the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out harder than he expected.

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