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Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

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

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

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

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest development in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, 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 US president, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump insisted 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 remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he said.

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 Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.