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Reports of an impending American-Russian presidential meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The frequently changing summit is another twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he said.

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position 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, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

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

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

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested 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 confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the war is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.