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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

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

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia done," 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 raging for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a history of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that gave him special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

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

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.