Vance says 'Russia is asking too much' to end war in Ukraine

Vice President J.D. Vance said on May 7 that Russia was "demanding too much" to end the war with Ukraine. He emphasized that the White House was frustrated by attempts to establish peace talks with Moscow, the newspaper writes Politico.

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Speaking at the Munich summit in Washington, Vance said the United States was focused on finding a long-term solution after Russia rejected an American call for a 30-day ceasefire. Moscow says such a temporary pause is not in its strategic interests because it would give Ukraine a chance to regroup.

Vance said Russia would likely have to make concessions, another signal that the Trump administration is prepared to take a tougher stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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"The Russians are putting forward a certain set of demands and conditions for ending the conflict. We believe they are asking too much," Vance said.

Late last month, the US president said sanctions might be introduced to change the situation.

“He may not want to end the war,” Trump wrote of Putin on his Truth Social platform in April. The post came after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome.

Vance said in his May 7 speech that Trump was willing to walk away from the talks but stopped short of directly threatening sanctions.

He specified that the next step should be the agreement of Ukraine and Russia to direct dialogue.

“We want both the Russians and the Ukrainians to agree on at least some basic principles to start the conversation,” Vance said. “That’s the next big step we want to take.”

He stressed that he was “not yet pessimistic” about the process, although there was a “big gap” between the two sides’ positions. He said that “the US probably won’t be able to mediate” unless the two sides establish at least some direct contact.

Speaking to an audience of senior transatlantic leaders in Washington, Vance struck a far more diplomatic tone than his strident speech at the Munich Security Conference in February. He emphasized the importance of U.S.-European ties, declaring that “we are on the same civilizational team.”

Vance admitted he was unsure whether he would be invited back to address the group after a February speech in Munich, when he shocked the crowd by lambasting European governments for ignoring the will of the people, canceling elections, curtailing religious freedom and failing to stop illegal immigration.

At the end of a question-and-answer session with former German ambassador to the United States and Munich Security Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger, Vance returned to the main points of his controversial February speech. Although more conciliatory in tone, he repeated his warnings to Europe, emphasizing that they apply to the United States as well.

"It's not 'Europe is bad and America is good,'" he said. "I think both Europe and the United States have gone a little bit off course, and I encourage us all to get back on track together."

Vance's speech appeared to ease tensions among the participants in the Washington meeting.

"I was nervous before the speech," said one conference participant from Western Europe. "But I left the room feeling calm."

Another participant noted Vance's softer tone, but added: "There are a lot of unanswered questions. How many concessions are you willing to make to Russia? If Ukraine cannot join NATO, what will you do to prevent future invasions by Russia? Because without a serious defense commitment to Ukraine, we all know it will happen again."

Some remained concerned about Vance's stance on Moscow. All participants spoke on condition of anonymity because the event was held under Chatham House rules, which allow content to be quoted but not names or affiliations disclosed to ensure candor.

"He was charming and took the sting out of the February speech," said a third participant. "But remaining neutral toward Russia and Ukraine is morally unacceptable. One side is the aggressor, the other is the victim fighting for survival. Nice speeches won't change that."

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As Vance spoke, the US and the new German government found themselves embroiled in a public row over Berlin's decision to label the far-right AfD party as extremist (Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week slammed the decision as “despotism in disguise,” arguing that it is the ruling parties’ “deadly open-border migration policies” that are truly extremist.

Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz called this an "absurd claim" in an interview with ZDF television on May 6.

"I would like to call on the American government to leave German domestic politics behind and generally refrain from interfering in such partisan issues," he concluded.

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