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Accounts of an impending US-Russia presidential meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - 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 wasted meeting," President Trump informed the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia done," he declared.

However, the conditions that aligned 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 almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation 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 region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Putin consented to a summit in Alaska just as 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 seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Hungary.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

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