US Vice President JD Vance was upbeat on Friday about the chances to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, after his second sitting in 24 hours with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Both leaders had first engaged in talks on Thursday in Washington before jetting off to Rome ahead of Easter holidays. Addressing a news conference with Meloni in Rome, Vance described positive developments that have emerged out of recent diplomacy.
“I would like to bring the prime minister up to speed on some of the negotiations that Russia and Ukraine have been having. even within the last 24 hours, we believe we have some interesting to report,” Vance stated. “As these negotiations are still in progress, I won’t prejudge the result, but we are hopeful that this senseless war can hope to be brought to an end.”
Earlier on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated a narrowing window for peace negotiations, saying President Donald Trump could pull back from making an attempt to negotiate a peace accord in a matter of days unless real progress is shown.
The United States has been ratcheting up diplomatic efforts in recent weeks, with hopes of clinching a solution to the two-year war that has destroyed Ukraine and put strained relations around the world.
