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

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, including his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - then to retreat in the wake of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out 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 the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the possible summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.