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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 said he intended to confer with Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told 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 wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he declared.

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a deal was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of siding with Israel since his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

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

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

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

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.