Vance on peace talks: Russia will not be given Ukrainian territory that it has not even captured
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that Russia is making excessive demands in its peace initiatives, particularly with regard to the territories of Ukraine that it does not even control.
He said this in an interview with Fox News TV channel, Censor.NET reports citing ZN.ua.
"Russia cannot expect to be given the territory of Ukraine that it has not even conquered yet. And that's one of the things they wrote down in that initial peace plan," Vance said.
According to the US Vice President, Russia's demands in the process of settling the war show that the Kremlin is convinced of its superiority on the battlefield. At the same time, he noted that the Ukrainian side is also allegedly interested in a ceasefire, in particular because of the difficult situation at the frontline recently.
"We knew that Russia would ask for too much because their perception of the war is that they are winning on the ground. And, of course, Ukrainians would like a ceasefire, partly because things have not been going well for the last few months," he explained.
Vance stressed that the United States would not support any agreement that jeopardises Ukraine's sovereignty. "We don't want to see Ukraine disintegrate. We obviously want it to remain a sovereign country," the official said.
Despite criticism of Moscow's initial demands, the US vice president called the very fact that the talks had begun a positive development. "I think it is progress that they are talking at all - both Russians and Ukrainians. I think it's progress that they've put concrete peace plans on the table," Vance said.
However, the politician warned that the United States would not stay in the negotiation process if it became convinced that Russia was insincere. "I would be worried if we came to the conclusion that the Russians are negotiating in bad faith. And if that happens, yes, we will withdraw from the negotiations," he said.
"We can only lead these guys to the well. We can't make them drink. And that's what the president has done," Vance added, stressing that the United States will continue to try to bring the parties together to achieve a lasting peace. "We will continue to work on this until we decide that we can't make more progress," the US Vice President concluded.
