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Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he intended to confer with Russian President 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' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of supporting Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

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

Last week, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

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 Ukrainian leader later made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that pledge, saying that concluding the war is turning out harder than he anticipated.

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