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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir 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 both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

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

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

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

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

Trump maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

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

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or is able to, give up the fight.