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Accounts of an impending American-Russian presidential meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President 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 cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating 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 congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader called the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out 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 us – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is proving harder than he expected.

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