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

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russian President Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's move to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Putin agreed to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

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

However the Ukrainian leader later made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.