Washington, DC — Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Russia is “asking for too much” in terms of requirements to end the war in Ukraine, and that he believes it is time for the two sides to engage in “direct negotiation.”
“I would not say that the Russians are uninterested in resolving this issue. What I would say is that the Russians are currently asking for a specific set of requirements and concessions in order to bring the conflict to an end.
We believe they are asking for too much,” Vance said during a Q&A session at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, DC, his second appearance in recent months after delivering a scathing speech in Germany criticizing European allies.
When asked about Vance’s remarks on Russia later Wednesday, President Donald Trump appeared unaware of them, saying, “Well, it’s possible that’s correct. He may know some things, uh – because I’ve been dealing with this and other issues.”
As he grows frustrated with his inability to end the war, the president reiterated the administration’s warning that there will be no indefinite tolerance for negotiations that do not progress.
“We are approaching a point where some decisions must be made. “I am not happy about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I’m not happy about it.”
During his remarks, Vance stated that the Trump administration had moved beyond the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine had accepted, citing Russia’s statement that it “is not in our strategic interest.”
“What the Russians have said – again, you don’t have to agree with it, but it’s important to understand where the other side is coming from – what the Russians have said, is a 30-day ceasefire is not in our strategic interest,” Vance told the audience. “We’ve tried to move beyond the obsession with the 30-day ceasefire and more on the, what would the long-term settlement look like, and we’ve tried to consistently advance the ball.”
The next step, Vance emphasized, is for Russia and Ukraine to communicate directly with one another.
“We would like both the Russians and the Ukrainians to actually agree on some basic guidelines for sitting down and talking to one another,” Vance told the crowd. “Clearly, the United States is eager to participate in those discussions, but it is critical that the Russians and Ukrainians begin communicating with one another. We believe that is the next major step we would like to take.”
He went further: “We think it’s probably impossible for us to mediate this entirely without at least some direct negotiation between the two.”
Vance emphasized that he is “not yet a pessimist” about the conflict’s chances of ending and described Trump as a “genuine humanitarian” for wanting the fighting to end.
“We strongly believe that continuing this conflict is detrimental to our interests. It’s bad for Europe, Russia, and Ukraine. We believe that if cool heads prevail, we can bring this to a long-term peace that will be economically beneficial to both Ukrainians and Russians, and most importantly, will put an end to the destruction of human lives,” Vance said.
In an interview a day earlier, the Trump administration’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia described President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to the 30-day truce as the main “impediment” to progress on peace talks, and stated that Ukraine is willing to establish a demilitarized zone within its territory as part of a potential ceasefire agreement.
“Our impediment to progress is the president of Russia right now not agreeing to (the 30-day ceasefire),” Keith Kellogg told Fox News, adding that it was in the Kremlin leader’s best interests to agree to the ceasefire because “the Russians are not winning this war.”
Kyiv has previously stated that it is willing to freeze the conflict along the current lines of contact as part of a ceasefire, but has not made any concrete public proposals for a demilitarized zone. CNN has contacted the Ukrainian government for comment.
Putin has proposed a three-day ceasefire to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the offer and reiterated his support for the 30-day truce.
Vance says US and Europe on ‘the same team’
Vance’s appearance Wednesday came months after he delivered a fiery speech in Germany, accusing European leaders of abandoning shared values such as free speech and downplaying Russian threats.
While that speech was not the focus of Wednesday’s meeting, it was not overlooked.
Off the top, Wolfgang Ischinger, the former conference chairman and now president of the MSC Foundation Council, held up a brochure published by the group about Vance’s remarks and reactions from around the world, which he said “kicked off a controversial debate about fundamental values unlike anything we have ever had at the Munich Security Conference.”
Vance adopted a more conciliatory tone, claiming that Europe and the United States are “on the same team.”
“I think that European civilization and American civilization, European culture and American culture, are very much linked, and they’re always going to be linked,” Vance went on. “And I think it’s, it’s completely ridiculous to think that you’re ever going to be able to drive a firm wedge between the United States and Europe.”
Reiterating his and Trump’s belief that Europeans must increase their own defense spending, Vance said discussions about security posture and other “big questions” should be rethought collaboratively.
In his closing remarks following the Q&A, Vance joked about the controversy surrounding his previous speech, appearing to calm things down.
“Thank you for your kind words, and I appreciate the invitation back. “I wasn’t sure if I’d get the invitation back after February,” he explained.
Ischinger responded, “Well, we thought about it…”
