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

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his choice to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. 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 US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the face of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The next day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when neither side wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.