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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate 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 move to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a history of siding with Israel since his first term, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

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

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained 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 successfully," he said.

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

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately urging the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.