US President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Ukraine on Monday ahead of this week's peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The Americans are acting as mediators in the peace talks, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Ukraine had better come to the negotiating table - quickly, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to Washington D.C., according to the AFP news agency.
Ukraine is under increasing pressure from the US to reach an agreement to end the nearly four-year-old war.
At the same time, the Russians are demanding that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region.
Ukraine has refused to withdraw from the area. The country wants security guarantees from Western countries to deter Russia from resuming the offensive if a ceasefire is reached.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said that the United States has given the warring parties a deadline of June to reach an agreement. The US president has previously given ultimatums in the negotiations, which have, however, fallen on deaf ears.
A Kremlin spokesman said on Friday, according to Reuters, that the peace talks in Switzerland will address the most important issues, including territories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's adviser Vladimir Medinsky, the head of military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov, and Russia's special envoy Kirill Dmitriyev are expected to participate in the talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
The Ukrainian delegation will once again be led by Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Reuters reports.
Previous rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, led by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, did not recently lead to any major breakthroughs but were described as constructive.
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