Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday that the United States is prepared to impose sanctions—and even consider military measures—if Russian President Vladimir Putin fails to bring an end to the nearly three-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” that could be used against Putin, Vance told the Wall Street Journal. He added that the deployment of US troops to Ukraine remains “on the table” if the Kremlin does not negotiate a genuine peace settlement.
In contrast, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking in Brussels on Wednesday during a meeting with Ukraine’s allies, ruled out the possibility of US ground forces entering the conflict zone. Hegseth maintained that “any security guarantee” provided to Ukraine to prevent a recurrence of war with Russia following a peace deal “must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.” He later informed reporters that “what concessions will be made or what concessions will not be made” will be determined by President Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Vance’s remarks were made just one day before a crucial meeting at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet a US delegation that is expected to include the vice president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Keith Kellogg. The discussions are anticipated to focus on strategies to bring the conflict to an end.
Reflecting on President Trump’s approach to peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Vance stated, “The president is not going to go in this with blinders on. He’s going to say, ‘Everything is on the table, let’s make a deal.’” While he emphasized that any agreement must preserve Ukraine’s independence, Vance declined to specify how much of the territory currently held by Russia might remain under Kremlin control. “There are any number of formulations, of configurations, but we do care about Ukraine having sovereign independence,” he remarked.
Vance further suggested that additional details, including whether security guarantees for Kyiv would be provided by the US or European countries, would be settled during the peace negotiations. He also hinted that President Trump might adjust the terms of the deal as the talks progress. “President Trump could say, look, we don’t want this thing, we might not like this thing, but we’re willing to put it back on the table if the Russians aren’t being good negotiating partners, or there are things that are very important to Ukrainians that we might want to take off the table,” Vance explained.
Meanwhile, President Trump, 78, disclosed on Wednesday that he and Putin had agreed to initiate immediate discussions to resolve the war. “[W]e want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” he posted on Truth Social. Later on Thursday, Trump told reporters that Ukraine would be involved in the talks with Russia—a point that has been a sticking issue for Zelensky—while also voicing his desire to reintegrate Russia into the G-7.
{Matzav.com}