European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has described the situation surrounding the war in Ukraine as "volatile" and "dangerous" and accused Russia of having no "real intent" of engaging in peace talks.
Her comments came shortly before Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "premature" to speak about striking a peace deal.
Von der Leyen said Ukraine would need strong security guarantees capable of deterring any further attacks, arguing that Russia still upheld a post-World War Two mindset and saw the European continent as a "sphere of influence".
She was addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg as the US ramped up efforts to mediate a deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Talks this week in Geneva and then Abu Dhabi have resulted in Ukraine agreeing to the "essence" of a peace deal, after changes were made to an initial 28-point plan widely criticised as heavily slanted towards Russia.
