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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia presidential meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the global economy and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread 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 possible meeting in Budapest.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.