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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," 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 postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is another twist in Trump's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to strike 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 Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in 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 agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

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

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

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

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

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately urging the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.