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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he said.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

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

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his ability to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

The US leader 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 came out really well," he said.

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

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.