U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has said that the war between Russia and Ukraine cannot be resolved “overnight,” stressing that Washington will continue to push for a diplomatic settlement.
Speaking in an interview on NBC News‘ Meet the Press, Vance commented on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s recent statement that no meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is currently planned, Ukrinform reports.
According to Vance, for the first time in the three-and-a-half years of the war, Russia has made “significant concessions” to U.S. President Donald Trump and expressed readiness to be flexible on some of its key demands.
“Of course, they haven’t been completely there yet or the war would be over. But we are engaged in this diplomatic process in good faith. We’re trying to negotiate as much as we can with both the Russians and the Ukrainians to find a middle ground to stop the killing,” Vance said.
He said Trump is trying to engage in “very aggressive” and “very energetic” diplomacy, adding that the war is not in the interest of Europe, the U.S, Russia, or Ukraine.
“We’re going to keep on pushing for a diplomatic solution,” Vance said.
He noted that there are “hills and valleys” to the negotiations — sometimes Washington believes it is making progress with Moscow, while at other times Trump is “very frustrated” with Russia’s stance.
“We’re going to keep on doing what we have to do to bring this thing to a close. I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight. I think that we’re going to continue to make progress, but ultimately, whether the killing stops, that determination is going to belong to whether the Russians and the Ukrainians can actually find some middle ground here,” he said.
On August 19, President Donald Trump announced that his administration was working on arranging direct talks between Zelensky and Putin to secure a potential deal to end the war. On August 22, Lavrov stated that Putin is ready to meet Zelensky only if a summit plan is prepared.
Photo: vance.senate.gov
Source: Russia's war against Ukraine will not end overnight - Vance
