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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced 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 initial meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in the president's attempts to broker an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

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

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to move the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

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

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less interested in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war 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 wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.