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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

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

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

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

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

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, 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, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president'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, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - then to retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a truce 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 Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.