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

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the executive mansion 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 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his 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 agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his first term, including his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the nation - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in Alaska just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That legislation 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 Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

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

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

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

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

So, in a short period, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

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

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.