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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "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 cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided 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, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact 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 summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Hungary.

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

The US leader insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

However the president of Ukraine later made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.