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Accounts of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced 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 initial meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

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

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be using Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The next day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader later made note of the sequence of events.

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a short period, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the war is proving more difficult than he expected.

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