Vance Says Russia ‘asking For Too Much’ To End War With Ukraine

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Russia is “asking for too much” to end its war with Ukraine, underscoring new frustrations in the Trump White House over its efforts to court Moscow on peace talks.

Speaking to the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, he said that the U.S. is focusing on a long-term settlement since Russia has rejected the U.S. call for a 30-day ceasefire. Moscow has said that sort of temporary pause is not in its strategic interest because it would allow Ukraine to regroup.

But he stressed that Russia is likely to have to make concessions — a sign that the Trump administration is willing to get more aggressive with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said.

Vance said the next step is to get Ukraine and Russia to agree to talk to each other.

“We would like both the Russians and the Ukrainians to actually agree on some basic guidelines for sitting down and talking to one another,” he said. “That is the next big step we’d like to take.”