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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary 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 Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his first term, including his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements 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 the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened 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 such actions could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

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

The US leader maintained that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin 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 advocating a truce along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

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