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Accounts of an impending American-Russian presidential meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump announced he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's efforts to broker an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he said.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his first term, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales 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 further escalate the war.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

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

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

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

Trump insisted that he was not being played by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

However the Ukrainian leader later made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

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

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.