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Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

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

A initial get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

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

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, 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 situation that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that the president would sign off on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly strained discussion.

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"You know, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.