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Accounts of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves White House without results

The frequently changing summit is another twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

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

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the country - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

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

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

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

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on calling for a truce along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.