Ukraine and its European partners will soon present the US with "refined documents" on a peace plan to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, following days of high-stakes diplomacy.
Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a US-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favourable to Moscow.
Ukrainian officials are also seeking strong security guarantees from partners, in the event of a deal, to prevent Russia from attacking again in the future.
In a statement, Mr Zelensky said new components of the deal hashed out with the British, French and German leaders in London yesterday are ready for US review.
"The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US," he wrote on X.
"Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible."
'Closer to a peace agreement'
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that allies worked on three separate documents, including a 20-point framework, a set of security guarantees and a reconstruction plan.
"I think we are closer to a peace agreement than we have been at any time since the war began," he said at an event in Helsinki.
Mr Stubb spoke as US President Donald Trump piled new pressure on Zelensky to secure a deal that could involve painful concessions, citing Russia's "upper hand" as it advances on the battlefield.
Among other demands, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine must hand over its entire eastern Donbas region before Russia stops fighting, something which Mr Zelensky has consistently rejected.
"They're much bigger. They're much stronger in that sense," Mr Trump said in an interview with Politico.
He added that Mr Zelensky would "have to get on the ball and start ... accepting things."
Mutually agreed peace deal the aim
At a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Deputy US Ambassador Jennifer Locetta said the United States is working to bridge the divide between Moscow and Kyiv.
She said the aim is to secure a permanent ceasefire and "a mutually agreed peace deal that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity for real prosperity."
Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: "What we have on the table are fairly realistic proposals for long-term, lasting settlement of Ukrainian conflict, something that our US colleagues are diligently working on."
"History relentlessly demonstrates that every new proposal being put before Ukraine is less favorable to it than the last," he told the council.
"Russia will achieve the objectives of its special military operation in any event. The only question is will we do this militarily or diplomatically? We reiterate that we prefer the latter course."
