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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 intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

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

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president 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 challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a history of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

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

Combine the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his ability to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the war any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

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

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.