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

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

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, too.

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

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The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a history of siding with Israel since his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

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

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an deal.

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

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

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

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

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded 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 power – and the challenge of establishing a framework for peace when neither side desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.