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Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in the president's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions 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 four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key 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 gave the president leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to the contested city, 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 the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - then to back off in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

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

In July, Putin agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, 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 privately urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.