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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in the president's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his first term, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

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

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has much less influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

Putin may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"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 short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.