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Accounts of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

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

"It is essential to get Russia done," he said.

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country 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 destabilise the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

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

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader called the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

However the president of Ukraine subsequently 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 engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is turning out harder than he anticipated.

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