US Vice President Vance said that the United States is working to arrange a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky included, but he believes that it is not a good idea for Russian President Putin and Zelensky to meet before the US and Russian leaders hold their bilateral talks.
US President Trump and Putin will hold talks in Alaska on the 15th, marking their first face-to-face meeting since Trump returned to the White House in January.
The New York Times reported that Vance said in an interview broadcast on Fox News on the 10th: “One of the most important obstacles is that Putin has said he will never sit down with Zelensky. The President (Trump) will have to break this deadlock.”
He said the White House is working to “arrange for all three leaders to sit down and discuss issues such as ending the conflict.”
Vance: A Ukraine Peace Agreement is Unlikely to Satisfy Both Sides
Vance said that a negotiated reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to satisfy either party, and any peace agreement may leave both Moscow and Kyiv “dissatisfied.” He said the US goal is to reach a solution both countries can accept.
Trump previously said that Russia and Ukraine are close to a ceasefire agreement, but Ukraine may need to give up large swathes of territory.
Zelensky said on the 9th that Ukraine cannot violate its constitution on territorial issues. “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupiers.”