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

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

A initial meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

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

During his election campaign previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that ending the war is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.