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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump announced he intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again summit is another twist in the president's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation resolved," he declared.

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

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

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings 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 faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side wants, or is able to, give up the fight.