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

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

A initial meeting by the two nations' 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 waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he said.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state 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 Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then retreat in the face of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of influencing him.

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

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

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

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

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that ending the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.