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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

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

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he declared.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided the president leverage to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his first term, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

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

Combine the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out 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 settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards delayed.

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

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

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

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that ending the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.