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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation done," he said.

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply 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 US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then 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 agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left empty-handed after a reportedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine later commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the war is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.