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

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to confer with Russian President Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary 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'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he said.

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost 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 move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, including his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that ending the war is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.