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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump said he planned 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' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

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

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has much less influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - then to retreat in the face of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders 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 settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader called the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Hungary.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"You know, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he said.

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

"As soon as the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has rejected.

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 commitment, admitting that concluding the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.