Russia’s demands at the talks on settling the war with Ukraine turned out to be “too high”, US Vice-President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News on 8 May. According to him, Washington expected Moscow to make inflated demands, as it often happens in the first stages of negotiations.
“We knew that Russia would ask for a lot because the Russian perception of war is based on the fact that they are winning but Russia can’t expect to be given territory that it hasn’t even conquered yet. And that’s one of the things they included in the original peace plan,” Vance noted.
He also described as important the participation of Russia and Ukraine in the negotiations with the USA with their own proposals of concrete plans. The vice president emphasised that Washington would withdraw from the process if it became clear that Russia was negotiating in bad faith.
“This would mean that both Russia and Ukraine would be left alone, without the advice and mediation of the United States,” Vance emphasised. At the same time, he expressed hope for diplomatic progress and noted that Washington would continue to try to bring the sides closer together.
On 1 May, Vance said that the USA plans to hold talks between Russia and Ukraine within the next 100 days. On 7 May, at a session organised by the Munich Security Conference, Vance noted that the US was betting on finding a long-term solution rather than a 30-day ceasefire, which Russia opposes.
A 30-day suspension of fighting was earlier called for by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imposition of short-term ceasefires – for Easter and Victory Day.
U.S. President Donald Trump called for a 30-day unconditional cease-fire on 8 May after a phone call with Zelensky. According to him, if the truce “is not honoured”, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.