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Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump said he intended to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get Russia done," he declared.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, including his decision to move the American embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The American leader, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

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

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, Trump has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, 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 in fact be using the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

However the president of Ukraine later made note of the sequence of events.

"As soon as the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

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

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.