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Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after President Trump announced he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

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

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

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in the president's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

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

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Putin consented to a summit in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

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

The following day, Trump welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

The US leader insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

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

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that commitment, admitting that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.