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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

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

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to broker an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who warn a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the possible summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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 came out really well," he said.

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

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

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, saying that concluding 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 wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.