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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation resolved," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The next day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.