The US vice president believes that Moscow has made “some significant concessions” and wants to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
“We have seen some significant concessions from both sides in the past few weeks. The Russian side has made some significant concessions to President Donald Trump, the first time in more than three and a half years of conflict in Ukraine,” US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on August 24.
Mr. Vance pointed out that one of the concessions was on the issue of ensuring security for Ukraine in the future, when the fighting has ended. The US vice president believes that Moscow wants to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, although there has been no clear progress. He said that the negotiation efforts are still facing many obstacles, but emphasized that Washington believes that this process can achieve results if persevered.
In the interview, Vice President Vance also dismissed the possibility of the US sending troops to Ukraine to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement, but stressed that Washington would continue to play an active role “to ensure that Kiev has the necessary security assurances”.
When asked about Russia’s missile attack on a US factory in western Ukraine, Vice President Vance said he “didn’t like it”, but noted that damage and casualties are an obvious reality in war.
After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, Mr. Trump warned that he would impose additional sanctions on Russia if there was no progress on the peace agreement within two weeks.
Mr. Vance described additional sanctions against Russia as being considered “on a case by case basis”.
“The president has been clear: They can be invited back into the global economy if the killing stops, or they will continue to be isolated. Ultimately, we will succeed. This is a high-energy diplomacy strategy that will end the war,” the US vice president said.
President Trump had set an August 8 deadline for Russia to agree to end the fighting in Ukraine, or the US would impose sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its oil. However, Mr. Trump did not make any moves after the deadline passed and then agreed to meet Mr. Putin in Alaska.