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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the two nations' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

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

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his first term, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter 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 American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a summit in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

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

However the president of Ukraine later commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that ending 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 finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.