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Accounts of an impending US-Russia 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 initial meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

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

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"We have to get Russia done," he said.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

However the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

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

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.