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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with Israel since his first term, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties 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 disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

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

However the president of Ukraine later commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

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

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.