Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that Russia has made “significant concessions” in talks to end its war with Ukraine but did not rule out the possibility of more economic sanctions.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Vance was asked by moderator Kristen Welker if Russia is playing President Donald Trump.
“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in 3 1/2 years of this conflict. They’ve actually been willing to be flexible on some of their core demands,” he said.
“We sometimes feel like we’ve made great progress with the Russians, and sometimes, as the president has said, he’s been very frustrated with the Russians,” Vance continued.
Vance was also asked about a Russian missile strike in western Ukraine, which hit an electronics factory owned by a U.S.-based company.
“I don’t like it,” Vance said of the assault. “But this is a war, and this is why we want to stop the killing. The Russians have done a lot of things that we don’t like. A lot of civilians have died. We’ve condemned that stuff from the get-go and, frankly, President Trump has done more to apply pressure and to apply economic leverage to the Russians. So you asked me what I’m enraged by? What I’m enraged by is the continuation of the war.”
Despite the Alaska Summit, there’s no planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Well, I didn’t say they conceded on everything,” Vance replied. “But what they have conceded is the recognition that Ukraine will have territorial integrity after the war. They’ve recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv.
Vance told NBC that more sanctions against Russia are possible, but those decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis.
“No, sanctions aren’t off the table. But we’re going to make these determinations on a case-by-case basis. What do we think is actually going to exert the right kind of leverage to bring the Russians to the table,” Vance said.
