U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance stated on Thursday that Russia has been demanding territory in Ukraine that it has not yet captured as part of ongoing peace negotiations, expressing growing frustration from the White House over the lack of progress toward ending the war.
“Russia cannot expect to be granted territory it hasn’t even taken. That was one of the things outlined in their initial peace proposal,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News, as reported by Politico.
Vance reiterated remarks he made earlier this week at the Munich Leaders’ Meeting in Washington, where he emphasized that “Russia is asking for too much” and will likely “have to make concessions.”
Despite Russia’s high demands, Vance acknowledged that this is a typical negotiation tactic: “We knew the Russians’ first offer would be excessive, we knew they’d ask for more than could reasonably be given—negotiations often work that way. That doesn’t worry me. What would worry me is if we come to realize the Russians are not negotiating in good faith.”
Should that become clear, he warned, the White House would step away from its role as mediator.
Initially, President Donald Trump had directed most of the administration’s pressure toward Ukraine in urging a peace deal. But in recent weeks, Trump has shown growing frustration with Moscow’s lack of urgency, even expressing concern in April over whether President Vladimir Putin was “taking advantage” of him, and suggesting new sanctions could follow.
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social calling for, ideally, a 30-day ceasefire, warning of further sanctions if the proposal is ignored.
Vance concluded by saying that while the very fact that both Russia and Ukraine have put forward proposals is a positive step, the two sides remain far apart:
“The fact that the Russians are offering any peace plan at all is movement. The fact that the Ukrainians have countered with a concrete proposal is also progress. But we still need to bring the sides closer to reach a lasting peace. We’re not there yet—but we’ll keep working on it, unless we eventually determine there’s no more ground to gain.”
