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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to mediate an end to war in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

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

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

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

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

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

So, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.