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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential meeting have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump gained from a history of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less leverage. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the war any nearer a resolution.

Putin may actually be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he said.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russia has been failed to capture.

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

During his election campaign last year, Trump promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.