In a week of intense foreign policy activity, U.S. President Donald Trump sought to use the recent Gaza ceasefire–hostage release agreement as a springboard for broader diplomatic initiatives.

As CNN notes in an extensive analysis, the starting point was his 36-hour trip to the Middle East and his appearance before Israel’s parliament, where, addressing special peace envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump said: “We have to finish with Russia. That’s what we need to do first.” The week concluded with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House seeking approval for new long-range missiles, ahead of an unexpected—and apparently imminent—meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest.

The president appeared convinced that the success in Gaza has created “momentum” and “credibility” that can be carried over 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 properly… I think the table is now set, and it will be a great honor to get it done.”

However, the fragility of the deal with Hamas became evident when difficulties arose in locating and returning the bodies of hostages, prompting backlash in Israel. U.S. officials pointed out that, given the rubble and lack of heavy machinery in the Palestinian enclave, recovering the bodies was not operationally feasible in the short term, while stressing the “undeniable” success of freeing 20 living hostages. The operational maintenance of the deal has been entrusted to Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who mediated with Hamas through Arab channels. Trump himself spoke again with Benjamin Netanyahu about the bodies, saying: “We’ll see if they keep their word; if not, we’ll deal with it.”

Meanwhile, the White House moved on multiple fronts: Trump confirmed that he had authorized CIA covert operations in Venezuela, threatened strikes inside the country, approved $20 billion in U.S. Treasury support for Argentina, and left open the possibility of new tariffs on China ahead of his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping.

On Ukraine, Zelensky arrived in Washington hoping for a delivery of Tomahawk missiles—with a range that would put Moscow within reach—and even met with the manufacturer for technical discussions. However, during a working lunch at the White House, it became clear that the Tomahawks would not be released for now.

“I hope they won’t be needed. I hope we can end the war without thinking about the Tomahawks,” Trump said. According to sources, the president believes Kyiv is seeking escalation and worries about casualties heading into winter. After the meeting, Zelensky said they agreed not to discuss the missile issue publicly, while Trump returned to his summer position of ending the war “where the lines are now,” hinting at acceptance of the current territorial situation—after earlier comments in September suggesting Ukraine might still reclaim land.

The next phase will involve direct diplomacy. Trump plans to meet Putin in Budapest—“within two weeks,” as he said—and then hold a summit with Xi in Asia to clarify trade tensions. He aims, he said, “to have Ukraine wrapped up” before the meeting with the Chinese leader. However, European and U.S. officials believe the “momentum” from Gaza will be hard to translate into leverage over two nuclear powers that are not militarily or economically dependent on the U.S. Without a “stick”—new sanctions or significant arms support—Moscow has little incentive to make concessions, while the “carrots” Washington can offer are limited compared to the Israel–Hamas case.

The political dimension is equally complex. Trump seemed to grasp the domestic pressures facing Netanyahu, even going so far as to call for a presidential pardon for the Israeli leader before the Knesset: “Cigars and champagne—who cares about that?” he quipped about the bribery charges. With Putin, such levers do not exist: the Russian president rules autocratically and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for the deportation of Ukrainian minors. Thus, Trump appears torn between taking tougher measures—which he hints at—and backing down when the Kremlin intervenes, as reportedly happened with a phone call before Zelensky’s visit that paved the way for a new one-on-one meeting.

Despite the risks, the White House is moving ahead with the “next day” of the Gaza agreement, preparing a multinational security force and reconstruction steps, while Witkoff and Kushner explore operational solutions for locating bodies, even considering deploying specialized teams from Turkey. When asked whether he worried that Putin was “buying time,” Trump replied: “Yes, I worry. But, you know, I’ve been played by the best all my life—and I’ve done pretty well,” implying that he intends to push for tangible results quickly, even as many critical issues remain unresolved.