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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been overstated, apparently.

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

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"It is essential to get Russia done," he said.

However, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, including his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, the president welcomed 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 manipulated by the Russian president.

"You know, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.