Vance Says Trump Wants Productive Russia-Ukraine Talks, Notes ‘Range’ Of Options
Vice President JD Vance stated on Thursday that President Donald Trump is focused on facilitating productive discussions between Russia and Ukraine. However, he emphasized that the U.S. has a "range of options" available should President Vladimir Putin fail to engage in negotiations that ensure peace for Ukraine.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Vance highlighted that Trump is prepared to employ various strategies to secure a peace agreement. He clarified that Trump is committed to achieving peace in Ukraine and is willing to offer incentives to encourage Russian cooperation.
"If you look at President Trump’s approach to this, the range of options is extremely broad, and there are economic tools of leverage. There are, of course, military tools of leverage. There’s a whole host of things that we could do. But fundamentally, I think the President wants to have a productive negotiation, both with Putin and with Zelenskyy," Vance told The Journal.
"I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people," Vance added.
His remarks came a day before he was set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich. European officials will closely watch these discussions to gauge President Trump’s stance on resolving the nearly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine conflict.
On Wednesday, Trump revealed that he had a "lengthy" phone conversation with Putin, during which the Russian leader agreed to "immediately" initiate talks concerning the war in Ukraine.
Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated that both leaders "agreed to work together, very closely."
"We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful," Trump announced on his social media site.
As head of the American delegation at the Munich Security Conference, Vance, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is expected to prioritize discussions on Ukraine’s future.
Regarding Trump's specific objectives, he has remained ambiguous, though he has implied that any agreement may require Ukraine to relinquish territories captured by Russia since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
"The Ukraine war has to end," Trump told reporters on Thursday. "Young people are being killed at levels that nobody’s seen since World War II. And it’s a ridiculous war."
This week, both Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO—an alliance that had declared less than a year ago that Ukraine’s membership was "irreversible." Additionally, they signaled that Ukraine is unlikely to recover all the territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea, which currently accounts for nearly 20% of Ukrainian land.
"I don’t see any way that a country in Russia’s position could allow … them to join NATO," Trump remarked on Thursday. "I don’t see that happening."
Acknowledging that formal negotiations have yet to begin, Trump stated that "maybe Russia will give up a lot, maybe they won’t," but suggested that certain territorial compromises might be necessary to reach an agreement.
At NATO headquarters, Hegseth reinforced on Thursday that "simply pointing out realism like the borders won’t be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014 is not a concession to Vladimir Putin." He described it instead as a recognition of the current geopolitical realities.
He further noted that neither side would "get everything that they want" and underscored that "any negotiation that’s had will be had with both."