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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian presidential meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. 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 information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

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

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

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

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

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he anticipated.

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