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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 planned to confer with Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, too.

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

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation done," he said.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

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

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump 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 move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a deal – 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 seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then promoted the potential meeting in Hungary.

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

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

"You know, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding 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 establishing a peace plan when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.