Germany, France, the U.K. and Poland outmaneuvered the Kremlin by persuading Ukraine’s Zelensky to accept Trump’s cease-fire demand. Russia’s leader balked.

Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years on Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war.

Russia and Ukraine's peace talks in Istanbul ended quickly, achieving only a POW swap while calls for a ceasefire were rejected.- Watch Video on English Oneindia