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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided Trump bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

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

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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 came out really well," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.