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

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President 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' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is another development in Trump's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get the Russian situation resolved," he said.

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy 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 nation - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but departed without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he said.

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

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – 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 pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.