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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing summit is another twist in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

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

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

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

In July, Russia's leader consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader called the US president who then touted the possible meeting in Hungary.

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

Trump maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

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

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

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including territory Russian forces 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 vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.