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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

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

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president 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 doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

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 advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

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

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.