The US president is attempting to use the recent Gaza ceasefire-hostage release agreement as a springboard for broader diplomatic initiatives including a cessation of hostilities between – .
The starting point of these initiatives was his 36-hour trip to the Middle East and his appearance in the Israeli Parliament, where, addressing the special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff, he said: “We have to finish with Russia. That’s what we have to do first.”
The week ended with him seeking approval for new long-range missiles, ahead of Trump’s unexpected—and, by all accounts, imminent—meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
As CNN typically reports in its extensive analysis, the US president appeared convinced that success in Gaza creates “momentum” and “credibility” that can be transferred to other fronts.
“I think we have a lot of momentum, a lot of credibility. Closing the Middle East was very important,” he said, adding: “We had to set the table right … I think the table is now set right here as well, and it will be a great honor to achieve that.”
However, the fragility of the deal with Hamas was shown when difficulties arose in immediately finding and handing over the bodies of the hostages, causing backlash in Israel.
US officials pointed out that under the rubble and without heavy machinery in the Palestinian strip, retrieving the bodies is not operationally feasible in the short term, while highlighting the “undisputed” success of freeing 20 hostages alive.
The operational maintenance of the agreement has been undertaken by Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who mediated through Arab channels with Hamas; Trump himself contacted Benjamin Netanyahu again about the corpses issue, saying: “We’ll see if they keep the deal; if not, we’ll deal with it.”
At the same time, the White House moved on multiple fronts: Trump confirmed that he authorized the CIA for covert operations in Venezuela, threatened strikes inside the country, approved $20 billion in US Treasury aid to Argentina and left open the possibility of new tariffs on China ahead of his meeting with Xi Jinping in a few weeks.
In Ukrainian, Zelensky arrived in Washington and also had meetings with the manufacturing company on technical issues. But at the White House working lunch, it became clear that, for now, the Tomahawks are not being released.
“I hope they won’t be needed. I hope we can end the war without thinking about Tomahawks,” Trump said.
According to sources, the US president believes that Kiev is seeking escalation and is worried about losses ahead of winter.
After the meeting, Zelensky said that while Trump reverted to the summer position of ending the war “where the lines are now,” hinting at accepting territorial acquis—following earlier statements in September that Ukraine might regain territory.
Trump-Putin meeting
The next phase brings diplomacy to the fore. Trump plans to meet Putin in Budapest—”within two weeks,” he said—and then a summit with Xi in Asia to iron out trade tensions.
Difficult to solve in Ukrainian
He seeks, as he said, “to have expired” the Ukrainian before the tete-a-tete with the Chinese leader. However, European and American officials estimate that the “momentum” from Gaza hardly translates into influence against two nuclear powers that are not militarily or economically dependent on the US.
Without a “whip”—new sanctions or a major weapons system boost—Moscow has limited incentives to make concessions; the “carrots” Washington can offer are also limited relative to the Israel-Hamas case.
The political dimension is equally complex. Trump showed an understanding of the domestic pressures facing Netanyahu, going so far as to ask the full Knesset for a presidential pardon for the Israeli prime minister: “Cigars and champagne, who cares about that?” he quipped about the bribery allegations against him.
In the case of Putin, corresponding levers do not exist: the Russian president rules autocratically and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for the deportation of Ukrainian minors.
So Trump appears to be oscillating between tougher measures—which he has hinted at—and backtracking when the Kremlin intervenes, as happened with a phone call before Zelensky’s arrival that paved the way for a new tête-à-tête.
Despite the risks, the White House is pressing ahead with the “day after” of the Gaza deal, preparing a multinational security force and reconstruction steps, while Witkoff and Kushner seek operational solutions to find bodies, even by mobilizing specialist teams from Turkey.
Trump himself, asked if he was worried about Putin “buying time”, replied: “Yes, I am worried. But, you know, I’ve been played by the best all my life—and I’ve done very well,” implying that he will seek tangible results quickly, even if many critical issues remain open.
