Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he had a "very warm" and "very good" meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Shannon Airport.
President Zelensky made a brief stopover at the airport on his journey to the United States to meet President Donald Trump.
Mr Martin said Mr Zelensky was "very thankful to the people of Ireland for our sustained support for the people of Ukraine".
The Taoiseach said they discussed how any peace deal to end the three-year war must be "sustainable, comprehensive and durable".
He said this can only be achieved with "significant security guarantees underpinning any ceasefire and ultimately peace".
Mr Martin said EU membership would give Ukraine some security guarantees but added economically, "it opens up a number of opportunities".
"We made it very clear that we would push very strongly for an accelerated timeline in terms of Ukrainian membership of the European Union", Mr Martin said.
He said they also discussed Irish financial support for Ukraine.
Mr Martin said he explained to President Zelensky how the commitments made by the Irish Government under the EU Peace Facility are being "frustrated" by Hungary's decision to veto the deployment of the fund.
Mr Martin said the war in Ukraine cannot be a "frozen conflict" and that a "comprehensive and durable" settlement is the objective of all countries that are party to the current talks.
He also said he saw Ireland playing a role in drone technology being used to evacuate injured Ukrainian soldiers from the frontline and in helping fund food and meal measures for Ukrainian children caught up in the conflict in their own country.
Mr Martin said Ireland is open to helping in any peacekeeping role, but "now is not the time for that debate, all of that will be determined by the nature of any ceasefire and peace talks and ultimately any settlement".
He also said Mr Zelensky was "very conscious of the non-lethal framework" which Ireland provides in its support.
He added he wished President Zelensky well in his talks with Mr Trump.
Asked if the US leader is an ally of Europe, the Taoiseach said he is "an ally of peace".
Mr Martin said the meeting earlier this week between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron was "warm".
He added there is a lot of engagement between Europe and the US.
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Separately, Mr Martin, asked about Mr Trump's comments yesterday that he plans to impose 25% tariffs on EU goods, said the Government will take it "step by step".
"As I have said, the detail of every proposal is the key here, and Ireland is a small open economy.
"In our view, free trade has created a rise in prosperity over the last 30-40 years. Which is unprecedented in world history," Mr Martin said.
He said it is Ireland's and the EU’s view that tariffs "damage economies" and cause inflation.
