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Accounts of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he said.

Nonetheless, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move 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 gained from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

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

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be using the US leader's wish for a deal – 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 sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

However the president of Ukraine subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

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

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.