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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

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

• Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key 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 the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with Israel since his first term, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

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

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the war.

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

Trump often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The next day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump insisted that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

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

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.