U.S. Vice President JD Vance, on Thursday, said the United States would sanction and even use military force against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not accept a peace agreement ensuring Ukraine’s sustained independence.
Vance did not exclude putting US troops into Ukraine if Russia fails to negotiate in good faith, indicating a harder line than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had spoken a day before of a commitment of US forces being unlikely.
Addressing possible US reactions, Vance pointed to several at the disposal of President Donald Trump, noting the flexibility of negotiations with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “There are economic tools of leverage, and obviously, military tools of leverage,” he said, The Wall Street Journal reported. “There’s a whole host of things that we could do. But at the end of the day, I think the president wants to have a productive negotiation, both with Putin and with Zelenskyy.”
In a WSJ interview, Vance suggested an unconventional outcome, stating, “I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people.”
On Friday, Vance sat with Zelenskyy in Munich to hold high-stakes talks on a conclusion to Russia’s war, as Ukraine sought a coordinated approach with Washington. The gathering followed Trump stunning allies by opening peace talks with Putin.
Zelenskyy, in his pre-meeting statement with Vance to the Munich Security Conference, declared that he is ready to meet directly with Putin but only if he has an agreed plan from the US and the European allies. “I will meet with one Russian alone Putin but after we have one common plan with Trump and Europe,” he declared.
