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

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

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

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, including his choice to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated 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 caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – 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 since discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.