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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to confer with Russian President Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when neither side wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.