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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' leading 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 Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs Washington without results

The frequently changing summit is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, 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 almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

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

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has much less influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

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

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

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