Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

The Kremlin has described Ukraine’s push to join NATO as one of the “root causes” of the conflict. Russia sees an expanding NATO as a major security threat. But NATO’s expansion into the Baltics and other post-Soviet states is driven by a fear that Moscow would one day invade and try to fold them back under its control—as seen in Ukraine.

A 1,000-strong "dark fleet" of rogue tankers evading sanctions has become a new target for the U.S. and Ukraine, according to a senior maritime intelligence analyst.

European leaders said they had agreed on Monday any decisions on potential Ukrainian territorial concessions to Russia could only be made once robust security guarantees were in place which should include a European-led multinational force.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and about 30 other countries are expected to approve plans to create a compensation body for damages caused by the Russian invasion.