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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump announced he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "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 cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald 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 says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion 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 the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success achievable 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 Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was Israel'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 compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a history of supporting Israel since his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

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

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions 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 harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but departed without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

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 us – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.