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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

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 high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another twist in the president's attempts to broker an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position 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 US president, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

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

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

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

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

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

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.