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Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' top diplomats has been called off, too.

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

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The on-again, off-again meeting is another development in Trump's efforts to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing several years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated America's Arab allies but provided Trump leverage to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of supporting Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israeli defense operations against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

Trump often boasts about his skill to meet and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any closer to a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on legislative penalties backed by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

The US leader maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

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

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially urging the Ukrainian president to surrender the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign 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 concluding the hostilities is turning out harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.