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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts 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 supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader called the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

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

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

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

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.