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

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing summit is another twist in Trump's efforts to broker an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

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

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently 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 Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The next day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.