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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "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, too.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation resolved," he declared.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions 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 harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his ability to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump 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.

The US leader maintained that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

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

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.