Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is
The derailing of talks to solve the 21-month Israel-Hamas war is the latest blow to Trump as several of his efforts to broker agreements for fraught conflicts and complex global threats have stalled.
Though the Republican president has only been back in office for six months, he has sought to be known as a peacemaker. In some cases, he has set ambitious goals that have fallen short, like a promise to end the still-ongoing war in Ukraine before he took office.
Trump has said he's seeking the deals to stop destruction and loss of life. But he has also been open about his ambition to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, prompting some of those seeking to cultivate favor with Trump to nominate him for the prestigious recognition.
Here's a look at where some of Trump's efforts to strike peace and security deals stand.
Gaza
STATUS: No major breakthroughs in recent talks.
THE BACKSTORY: Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that the U.S. was bringing home its negotiating team from Qatar, where talks were ongoing, to assess its next steps. Witkoff said the move was made because Hamas was not showing 'good faith' toward reaching a ceasefire, but U.S. officials did not offer specifics.
No major breakthroughs have occurred despite weeks of talks in Qatar, along with a visit early this month to the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Witkoff said the U.S. would 'consider alternative options to bring the hostages home,' but U.S. officials did not answer questions about what those options could include.
When asked about next steps on Friday, Trump told reporters that Hamas didn't want to make a deal and said, 'I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down.'
Russia-Ukraine
STATUS: War still going on.
THE BACKSTORY: Before he returned to office, Trump repeatedly said he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours — and even before he was sworn in as president. That didn't happen, and both sides remain far apart on reaching an agreement.
Trump has become increasingly critical of President Vladimir Putin in recent months and is losing patience with his continued offensive in Ukraine. But Trump has resisted backing a bipartisan U.S. bill to impose steep sanctions on Russia, instead giving Russia 50 days to accept a peace deal or face sanctions on its energy exports. The delay has given Russia a window to continue a stepped-up offensive in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week reiterated his willingness to meet face-to-face with Putin to end the conflict. Russia has rejected the offer, saying the countries are too far apart. Lower-level Ukrainian and Russian officials met Wednesday for talks in Istanbul, but no breakthroughs were announced.
Putin has said any peace deal should include Ukraine withdrawing from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but did not fully capture. He also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept limits on its military. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected those terms.
Iran
STATUS: Open conflict ended for the moment. Many unanswered questions remain.
THE BACKSTORY: Trump was able to broker a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran after the U.S. joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran's nuclear program. But the status of Iran's nuclear program is another unanswered question for the Trump administration. While the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear capacities, the United States has still not struck an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.
An Iranian diplomat said Wednesday that his country was ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only after Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust.
Meanwhile, Iran has opened the door to a separate yet related negotiation track with Britain, France and Germany, three of the remaining members of a 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew the United States from in his first term. Foreign ministers from the four countries met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss European threats to reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August.
Other conflicts
While deals in some of the most pressing conflicts have remained elusive to Trump, he has helped to broker agreements in the months he's been back in office.
RWANDA-DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: In June, he invited leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the White House to sign an agreement seen as a major step toward peace after decades of conflict. The U.S.-brokered deal emphasizes the two neighboring countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity and includes a commitment to end hostilities and backing of armed groups. The deal also helps the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region.
INDIA-PAKISTAN: In May, when a series of military strikes brought longtime nuclear adversaries India and Pakistan closer to war, Trump's administration intervened. The nations agreed to stop fighting after the U.S.-led talks, and Trump said he would work to provide a 'solution' to the long-running dispute over the Indian-controlled Kashmir region. The ceasefire has held, but it's not clear what progress has been made on any long-term agreement. Last month, Trump had lunch at the White House with Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief.
SYRIA-ISRAEL: Earlier this month, after Israel intervened in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups, Trump's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, announced a limited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. Barrack, who's also the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said he met in Paris on Thursday with representatives from both countries to discuss de-escalation. Barrack said on social media that 'we accomplished precisely that' and that both sides committed to continuing the effort.
Israel's intervention, however, caught Trump off guard and stymied his administration's push to get both countries to reach a full normalization of diplomatic relations.
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Amiri reported from New York.
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