Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed that the United States will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace talks if the countries do not accept President Donald Trump's offer to end their three-year war.
“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the US to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters during a trip to India. “We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy.”
Trump's "final offer" reportedly includes de jure recognition of Russian control over Crimea and de facto recognition of Russian control over most of the territory it has gained since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Ukraine would get some land back and unhindered access to the Dnieper River, as well as aid to rebuild, "robust" security guarantees from Europe, and potential European Union membership, in exchange for abandoning its aspirations to join NATO.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin for another round of talks Friday as Trump teased his proposal in an interview with TIME magazine.
"Crimea will stay with Russia,” Trump said, adding Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky "understands that."
Trump also suggested NATO membership must be taken off the table to achieve lasting peace. Trump has long said NATO's eastward expansion played a significant role in sparking the current conflict.
“I don’t think they’ll ever be able to join NATO. I think that’s been—from day one, I think that’s been, that’s I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO. If that weren’t brought up, there would have been a much better chance that it wouldn’t have started,” Trump said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has long refused to cede territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, which has been under Russian control for more than a decade.
Zelensky's unbending position has frustrated Trump, who has accused the Ukrainian leader of prolonging the war. Trump has repeatedly said Ukraine doesn't have major leverage.
“I just want to do it as fast as possible,” Trump said at the White House on Friday, adding a deal is "pretty close" to fruition.
While Trump is optimistic about a deal, his team clearly wants to keep the pressure on by letting everyone know that the U.S. could back out at any time.
Vance warned that Russia and Ukraine will both have to make territorial concessions to end the bloodshed.
