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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he intended to meet 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 both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, too.

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

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another twist in the president's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. 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.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to sit down and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

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

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

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

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 emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.