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

Just days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

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

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

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's attempts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he said.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact 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 world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently 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 phoned the US president who then promoted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"You know, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

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