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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced 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' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

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

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is another development in the president's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he declared.

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

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a history of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change America's position 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 Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

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

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

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

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The following day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

But the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.