Russia has realised Ukraine needs ‘some security guarantee’: Vance

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance said Russia had made “significant concessions” towards a negotiated settlement in its war with Ukraine and was confident progress was being made despite the lack of clear advances towards ending the conflict.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker”, Vance said Russian President Vladimir Putin has made several concessions, including that Ukraine will receive security guarantees protecting against future Russian aggression.

“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance said in comments aired on Sunday.

NO PUPPET REGIME

“They’ve recognised that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Read more: Russia says no meeting planned with Zelensky, NATO for security guarantees

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that a group of
nations including United Nations Security Council members should be the guarantors of Ukraine’s security.

On Friday, President Donald Trump renewed a threat to impose sanctions on Russia if there was no progress toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks, showing frustration at Moscow a week after his meeting with Putin in Alaska.

TARIFFS ON INDIA

Vance said sanctions would be considered on a case-by-case basis, acknowledging that new penalties were unlikely to prompt Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Interestingly, Vance pointed to Trump’s announcement this month of an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as a punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil as the kind of economic leverage that would be used in pursuit of peace.

Read more: India gets another 25pc US tariff over Russian oil purchases

“He’s tried to make it clear that Russia can be re-invited into the world economy if they stop the killing, but they’re going to continue to be isolated if they don’t stop the killing,” Vance said.