Why Trump made breakthrough in Gaza but can’t with Putin over Ukraine

The leaders' cancelled summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an end to the war, writes Anthony Zurcher.

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Just days after US President Donald Trump said he planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want to have a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.