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

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, too.

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

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he declared.

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president loves to tout his skill to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

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

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side wants, or is able to, give up the fight.