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

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

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is another development in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and prisoner exchange agreement in the Palestinian territory.

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

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to achieving a deal was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in Qatar. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the hostilities any closer to a resolution.

Putin may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then promoted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

He has ultimately decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has subsequently discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is turning out harder than he anticipated.

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