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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's move to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country 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 whole area.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader later made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that ending the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.