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

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

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he declared.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories 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 provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, 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 Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

The US leader insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"You know, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he said.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the war is turning out more difficult than he expected.

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