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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

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

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he said.

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

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

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

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact 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 intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit 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 legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Zelensky at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

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

However the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

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

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – something Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.