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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

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 summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas 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 making a deal.

Trump gained from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the war any closer to 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 means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

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

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

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

So, in a short period, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.