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Accounts of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump said 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 initial get-together by the both countries' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

Nonetheless, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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 change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

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

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of concerned European allies who warn a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine later commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a short period, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a truce along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.