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Reports of an impending American-Russian presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "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, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he said.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, including his decision to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any nearer a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin agreed to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the possible summit in Budapest.

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

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.