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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential meeting have been overstated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to mediate an end to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he declared.

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

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his first term, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

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

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump loves to tout his ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader later made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, 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 privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

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