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Reports of an impending American-Russian presidential summit have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russian President 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 cancelled, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in the president's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's move to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

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

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would sign off 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 shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned the US president who then promoted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

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

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

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

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately urging Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.