As he met for the first time with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Donald Trump’s desire for a deal with Russia, US Vice President JD Vance promised that Washington aimed to achieve a “lasting” peace, reports RTE.
The Munich negotiations were viewed as a pivotal point in Ukraine’s efforts to maintain US support following Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement of peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” Mr Vance said as the meeting wrapped up, reports RTE.
He stated that they will have additional discussions “in the days, weeks, and months to come” and that they had had “good conversations” with Mr. Zelensky over how they could accomplish that aim.
A “good conversation” was also praised by Mr. Zelensky, who added that the meeting with Mr. Vance was “our first meeting, not last, I’m sure” reports RTE.
In his first publicly acknowledged contact with Mr. Putin since taking office again, Mr. Trump shook Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday by offering to begin peace negotiations.
Concerns that Ukraine would be abandoned after fighting against Russia’s invasion for over three years were raised by the abrupt improvement in ties, reports RTE.
In response to US authorities’ insistence that Mr. Zelensky participate in talks, the Ukrainian leader stated that he would be willing to meet with Mr. Putin once he and Mr. Trump had reached an agreement on a “common plan.”
Mr. Zelensky addressed the Munich Security Conference, “Only in this case I’m ready to meet,” before to seeing Mr. Vance.
Prior to the conference, Mr. Vance stated that Europe should “of course” be at the table and that the United States was ready to put pressure on Russia, reports RTE.
In order to free up Washington to concentrate on dangers in other parts of the world, he also instructed Europe to “step up” its defences.
After Pentagon commander Pete Hegseth seemed to rule out Ukraine joining NATO or retaking all of its land, US officials have provided conflicting signals about Washington’s policy.
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The prospect of Ukraine being coerced into a terrible agreement that leaves the continent facing an empowered Putin has caused serious concerns in Kyiv and throughout Europe, reports RTE.
However, Mr. Vance told The Wall Street Journal that Washington may even use “military leverage” against Russia to compel a settlement, and that Mr. Trump would put everything “on the table” in any future negotiations.
In his eagerly anticipated keynote talk, he did not reveal more, focussing instead on reprimanding Europe for free speech and immigration rather than the conflict in Ukraine, reports RTE.
Saudi Arabia stated that it would welcome any discussions between the two leaders after being mentioned by Mr. Trump as a possible location for a meeting with Mr. Putin.
When they met, Mr. Zelensky seemed to downplay concerns that Mr. Trump was abandoning Kyiv, claiming that the US president had provided him with his personal phone, reports RTE.
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