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

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in the president's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, 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 the Islamic Republic.

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

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings 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 influencing him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then touted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

However the president of Ukraine later commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.