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Accounts of an impending American-Russian leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters 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 shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in the president's efforts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was Israel's move to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, 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 Iran.

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

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.