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

Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is another twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get Russia done," he said.

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

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

The US president gained from a history of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his first term, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

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

The US leader has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

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

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

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

However the president of Ukraine 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 stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

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

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.