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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia presidential meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

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 force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - then to retreat in the face of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, 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 using Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained 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 really well," he remarked.

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

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

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