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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press 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 arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is another twist in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, including his choice to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - then to back off in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

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

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

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

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

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

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