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Accounts of an impending US-Russia presidential meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest development in the president's efforts to broker an end to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the American leader 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 his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

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

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Ukraine's president, 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 disrupt the whole area.

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

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in Alaska just as it seemed probable that the president would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he said.

However the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – something the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.