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

Just days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's attempts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost several years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained 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 the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

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

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, on the other hand, the president 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.

The US leader has warned to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

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

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - 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 approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I came out 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 less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.