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Reports of an impending American-Russian presidential summit have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - 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 prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in the president's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Putin agreed to a summit in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side wants, or is able to, give up the fight.