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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"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."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he declared.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - then to retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called the US president who then promoted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

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

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.