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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing summit is another twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his ability to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be using Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

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

During his election campaign previously, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.