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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A initial meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

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

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

The on-again, off-again meeting is another twist in the president's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the circumstances 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 ongoing for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. 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 Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a peaceful end.

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

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

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

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader later commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, saying that ending the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.