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

Just days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, 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 the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

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

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin agreed to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

The US leader insisted that he was not being played by Putin.

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

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

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.