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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose 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 global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

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

The US leader maintained 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 came out really well," he said.

However the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, 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 Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned 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 wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.