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

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

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

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in the president's attempts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus 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 recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation done," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.