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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

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

A initial get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he said.

But the president of Ukraine later made note of the sequence of events.

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

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

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.