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Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

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

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence 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 diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - then to retreat 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 meet and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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 came out really well," he said.

However the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

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

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.