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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the two nations' top diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, including his decision to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve 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 sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then promoted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign previously, Trump vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.