By Tom Balmforth, Andreas Rinke and John Irish KYIV/BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) -For Ukraine and its allies, who spent months trying to win Donald Trump over to their cause in the war started by Russia, it is back to square one.

So much for Donald Trump’s “force of personality” forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to prove he wants to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump has made no effort to use his leverage to force Putin into a deal, and the Russian leader has "no desire" to see war end, says former V.P. Dan Quayle.

Following years of outright conflict in Ukraine, President Donald Trump said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace between the two countries.

A telephone call between the two leaders was the latest chapter in a flurry of diplomatic maneuvering over ending the three-year conflict.

Donald Trump promised voters he'd end the Russia-Ukraine war on Day 1 thanks, in part, to his relationship with Putin. But months into his term, peace remains elusive.

European leaders spoke with President Donald Trump on Sunday to urge him to pressure Vladimir Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.

Peskov added that for Russia, “the key and most fundamental issue” is determining who, on the Ukrainian side, would be authorized to sign any agreements resulting from the talks. He claimed that during negotiations in Istanbul,

A high-stakes phone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is underway, as the White House continues its push for an end to Moscow's 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine after last week's peace talks in Istanbul,