Jakarta, CNN Indonesia --

United States President Donald Trump is pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand over the eastern Donbas region in exchange for a peace deal with Russia.

Trump made this statement during his meeting with Zelensky last Friday in Washington. A Ukrainian official said the talks were"not easy," and that diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war felt like they were "dragging on."

Ukraine considers the Donbas, an industrial region stretching across the eastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions, an integral part of its territory. Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the idea of ceding the region.

European leaders expressed similar opposition. They instead proposed that the Russia-Ukraine fighting be"frozen" on the current front lines.

In a separate statement last week, Trump argued he had not referred to Ukraine at all to handing over the Donbas region.

"What I'm saying is they should stop right now at the battle line. They can negotiate something later," Trump said, as quoted by AFP.

But when asked whether Trump had urged Zelensky to withdraw from land still under Ukrainian control, a senior Ukrainian official acknowledged that he had.

Russia now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, much of which has been devastated by war. Tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers have also died in the war, which has lasted for more than two years.