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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia presidential meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump announced he planned to confer with Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in the president's efforts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he said.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, 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 the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

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

In July, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president 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 considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader later commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

During his election campaign previously, the candidate promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he expected.

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