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Reports of an upcoming American-Russian presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

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

A preliminary get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs Washington without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest development in the president's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt recently to celebrate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia done," he declared.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to strike Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump gained from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the global economy and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a means of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The next day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House, but departed without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

However the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less interested in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

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

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.