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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

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

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success 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 unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his decision to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply 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 publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin agreed to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

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

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.