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

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him special sway over the nation's head.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has much less influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

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

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

In July, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

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

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine later made note of the timeline of developments.

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

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.