The US Vice President JD Vance said that Washington is considering sending American troops to Ukraine if Putin does not agree to a long-term peace.
He said this in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
He said the US could hit Moscow with economic sanctions and possibly send in its military, the latter of which could be implemented if Russia "is unable to negotiate in good faith".
This position differs from the recent statement by the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that the United States will not deploy its troops to the territory of Ukraine.
JD Vance stressed that it is too early to say what part of the countryʼs territory will remain under Russian occupation or what security guarantees the United States and other Western allies will offer Ukraine.
"There are as many formulations and configurations as you want, but we are making sure that Ukraine has sovereign independence," he said.
He added that the administration of the US President Donald Trump will try to convince Putin that Russia will achieve more at the negotiating table than on the battlefield.
Vance also proposed resetting relations with Russia in the event of a successful peace agreement with Ukraine — saying that Moscowʼs current isolation from Western markets has made it a junior partner to Beijing, which is allegedly not in Putinʼs interests.
Donald Trump also stated that Russia should be allowed to return to the G7 club of wealthy countries and called Ukraineʼs membership in NATO something "that Russia cannot allow".
- On February 12, Trump called Putin and then Zelensky. After that, Trump announced that he was starting negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
- After that, speaking to reporters, Trump suggested that he might meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia. When exactly is unknown, but the meeting could take place in the “near future”. Trump also made it clear that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would participate in the talks. However, Zelensky is unlikely to be invited to the talks. Trump sees no threat to dialogue with Russia without President Zelensky and considers the question of whether Ukraine is an equal participant in the peace process “interesting”.
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