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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed 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 did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is another development in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

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

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a history of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The next day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

The US leader maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – something Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

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