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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to meet Russian President Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation resolved," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his choice to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

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

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - then to retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the war any closer to a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader later made note of the timeline of developments.

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

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal Russia 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 abandoned that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.