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Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

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

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

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe 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 departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he said.

Nonetheless, 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.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a agreement was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

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

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has much less leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

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

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called the US president who then promoted the possible meeting in Budapest.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

But the president of Ukraine later commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – even territory Russia has been failed to capture.

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

On the campaign trail previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.