UKRAINE’S President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that proposals being negotiated with the United States for a deal to end the fighting with Russia could be finalised within days.

President Zelensky said that once the deal is signed off from his side, the US envoys will present the plan to the Kremlin before possible further meetings in the US next weekend.

A draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin on Monday is “not perfect” but is “very workable,” Mr Zelensky told reporters.

He cautioned, however, that some key issues — notably what happens to Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces — remain unresolved.

But President Zelensky said that after the Berlin talks, “we are very close to [a deal on] strong security guarantees.”

A Nato source said: “Europeans will lead a multinational and multi-domain force to strengthen those troops and to secure Ukraine from the land, sea and air, and the US will lead a ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, with international participation.”

It is unclear that Russia would sign a deal that allowed Nato forces to deploy in Ukraine, a previously cited red line.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.

If Ukraine seeks “momentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate,” he said.

US officials said on Monday that there is consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90 per cent of the peace plan. US President Donald Trump said: “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever” to a peace settlement.

Land captured by Russia during the fighting remains one of the biggest remaining areas of dispute.

President Zelensky reiterated that Kiev rules out recognising Moscow’s control over any part of the Donbass, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Lugansk and Donetsk.

But President Trump has previously indicated that Ukraine will have to cede territory to end the fighting.

The Ukrainian leader said: “The US is trying to find a compromise.

“They are proposing a ‘free economic zone’ [in the Donbass]. And I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.”

President Zelensky repeated his warning that if Russia rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support.