US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday warned that Russia and Ukraine must strike “a deal or Washington will walk away from this process,” according to news agency AFP.
“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance, who is on a four-day visit, told reporters in India.
Vance made his remarks as diplomats from Washington, Kyiv, and European countries met in Britain for talks, part of a renewed US effort to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He further emphasised the urgency for both parties to cease hostilities and establish territorial boundaries approximately along current front lines.
“It’s now time, I think, to take, if not the final step, one of the final steps, which is, at a broad level, the party saying we’re going to stop the killing, we’re going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today,” he said.
“Now, of course, that means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” he added.
Last week, US President Donald Trump warned that he is prepared to abandon efforts to end the war in Ukraine if a deal cannot be reached soon.
Trump described the conflict’s severity, stating, “It’s a vicious battle with the best equipment, the best everything, and it is brutal. 2,500 young people a week, some of them not so young, actually. They’re getting older. They’re getting older by the month.”
“But 2,500 a week, and we’re going to get it stopped, ideally. Now, if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people, and are going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won’t have to do that,” he added.
Trump’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the administration was reassessing the viability of continued peace talks.
“We need to determine very quickly, in a matter of days, whether this is doable in the next few weeks. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on,” Rubio said.
