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Accounts of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump said he planned to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in the president's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - then to back off in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader 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 throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

However the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.