KYIV — The United States has signaled to Ukraine that security guarantees depend on Kyiv agreeing to a peace deal likely requiring it to cede the eastern region of Donbas to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Reuters in an interview.

With Washington focused on the conflict with Iran, it is applying pressure on Kyiv in an effort to bring a quick end to the four-year Russia-Ukraine conflict, Zelensky said.

"The Middle East definitely has an impact on President (Donald) Trump, and ... on his next steps. President Trump, unfortunately, ... still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side," he told Reuters.

The US, Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of high-level, trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis.

Zelensky has repeatedly said robust security guarantees from international partners are needed to ensure Russia does not restart hostilities in the future, after any peace deal is agreed.

"The Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas," Zelensky said, adding that he understood the "subtleties" of the US position despite having not taken part directly himself in the trilateral talks.

"I would very much like the American side to understand that the eastern part of our country is part of our security guarantees," he said.

Speaking in a gilded meeting room at the presidential offices in Kyiv, Zelensky said Russia was betting Washington would lose interest if the peace talks stalled and walk away. He acknowledged that there was some risk in this.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that control of the whole of Donbas is an essential element of his military operation aims, which Moscow would achieve on the battlefield if it cannot do so at the negotiating table.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Agencies via Xinhua