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

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to confer with Russia's leader 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 wasted meeting," President Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is another development in the president's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

"It is essential to get Russia done," he said.

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

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister 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 US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

The US leader has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the nation - only to then back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may in fact be exploiting the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the possible summit in Hungary.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly strained discussion.

The US leader insisted that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

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

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since discarded that pledge, admitting that ending the war is turning out more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.