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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

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

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is another development in the president's efforts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

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

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

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

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then touted the possible summit in Budapest.

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

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

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