WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the Trump administration believes Russia is "asking for too much" during talks to bring its war in Ukraine to an end.
“Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions, in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said at a Munich Leaders Meeting on international security policy in Washington, D.C.
Asked about Vance’s comments later Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, “It’s possible that’s right.”
“We are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made,” said Trump, who has said repeatedly that U.S. may have to walk away from the negotiations if no progress has made.
“I’m not happy about it,” he added. “I’m not happy about it.”
Trump and other officials have intensified pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks.
Vance, who has long criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and was involved in the February Oval Office blow-up with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Wednesday the Trump administration is continuing discussions with Kyiv on what it needs to bring the conflict to an end.
“What the president has said is that he will walk away if he thinks he’s not making progress” in talks with the two countries, said Vance, who last week predicted that the war was not going to end "anytime soon."
The vice president said at the event Wednesday that the U.S. would like to see direct talks between Russia and Ukraine as the next major step in the diplomatic process.
“Obviously, the United States is happy to participate in those conversations, but it’s very important for the Russians and the Ukrainians to start talking to one another,” he said.
Vance added that he thinks it would be “probably impossible” for the U.S. to mediate the talks entirely, without at least some direct conversations between Russia and Ukraine to try to close the “gulf” in what the two countries are demanding. He said the U.S. has been frustrated with the negotiations because, he said, Russia and Ukraine "hate each other so much" that the first 30 minutes of any hourlong discussion, for example, is spent "complaining about some historical grievance."
The U.S. has participated in talks with Ukraine and European partners in recent weeks, but there don't appear to be formal talks underway at the moment.
In an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" that aired over the weekend, Trump said he believed the U.S. was "closer" in making progress with one party, "and maybe not as close with the other." He declined to say which side was the one making progress. At the same time, however, the president admitted that "maybe it's not possible to do" a deal.
Asked how long he would give both countries before walking away from the talks, Trump said, "Well, there will be a time when I will say, 'OK, keep going. Keep being stupid and keep fighting.'"
After the Oval Office spat, the administration has softened its approach toward Ukraine, especially as a deal to give the U.S. access to some of Ukraine's rare earth minerals finally came together.
In late April, Trump expressed outrage at Putin after his military launched one of the most devastating attacks on Ukraine's major cities since the war began. “Vladimir, STOP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Russia's attacks have still continued, with its army launching four ballistic missiles and 142 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Zelenskyy, who had said without providing details Tuesday that it planned to ramp up pressure on Russia.
"The coming weeks are expected to be very active for Ukraine in diplomacy," he said. "We are planning new measures to increase pressure on Russia — to protect our people. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine."
