2:25President Donald Trump alongside Vice President JD Vance address reporters following the disclosure that the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center in December 2025, speaking from the Oval Office in Washington on Aug. 22, 2025.Annabelle Gordon/EPA/Shutterstock
Vice President JD Vance stated on Sunday that Russia has offered “major compromises” during negotiations aimed at halting its war with Ukraine, while leaving the door open to additional sanctions as leverage on Moscow to embrace peace.
Appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Vance rejected suggestions that Russia is merely stalling President Donald Trump, asserting instead that the Kremlin has shown “flexibility” on several key conditions.
“I believe the Russians have yielded important ground to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of fighting. They have actually demonstrated willingness to bend on several of their central demands and have outlined what would be required to stop hostilities,” he remarked. “Naturally, if they had fully accepted those terms, the conflict would already be over, but we remain committed to the diplomatic track in earnest.”
“At moments we sense significant headway with Moscow, while at others the president has voiced clear frustration with the Russians’ approach,” Vance added.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance speak after announcing the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will be held at the Kennedy Center in December 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 22, 2025.Annabelle Gordon/EPA/Shutterstock
When pressed on why he thinks Moscow seeks a settlement—after rejecting Trump’s cease-fire plan and with no Putin–Zelenskyy summit scheduled—the vice president replied:
“I didn’t claim they have conceded on every point. What they have yielded is acknowledgment that Ukraine’s territorial integrity will prevail once the fighting stops. They accept that Kyiv will not be saddled with a puppet government—an original, non-negotiable demand. Most notably, they concede that Ukraine must receive security assurances safeguarding its borders.”
Vance told NBC that further punitive measures against Russia remain on the table, but each would be judged individually.
“Sanctions have not been ruled out. We will evaluate each potential action separately as we assess which tools provide effective leverage to draw the Russians into a settlement,” Vance explained.
In a separate segment of “Meet the Press,” recorded Friday and aired Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed U.S. lawmakers who allege Russia is playing games with Trump, saying Moscow “respects the American president.”
“It is not up to legislators or the media to divine President Trump’s motives—he has our respect because he champions American national interests,” Lavrov remarked.
Lavrov argued that the barrier to a peace deal lies not with Putin but with European leaders who conferred with Trump and Zelenskyy in Washington last week.
“I am equally convinced that President Trump respects President Putin because Putin advances Russia’s national interests,” he added. “Whatever they discuss privately is transparent to both sides. We seek an end to hostilities in Ukraine, and so does President Trump. The reaction from those European delegates after their Washington gathering clearly shows they oppose peace.”
Lavrov confirmed no Putin–Zelenskyy meeting has been slated, contending that an agenda must first be agreed upon.
Zelenskyy stated Friday that a summit is off the table because, in his view, Moscow has no wish to stop the war.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar following their talks at Zinaida Morozova’s Mansion in Moscow, Russia August 21, 2025.Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters
“It isn’t merely a question of a meeting,” he asserted. “The core issue is their unwillingness to end the war. A bilateral summit is one element of ending hostilities, not the entire solution. Because Russia refuses peace, we must shrink its space to wage war—something the United States and Europe are collectively doing.”
American and European defense chiefs have been discussing security arrangements meant to deter further Russian aggression against Kyiv, though specifics remain scarce.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine on Friday to present a draft framework for Kyiv’s future security guarantees alongside Zelenskyy.
“The first tier must ensure Ukraine’s armed forces are as formidable as possible to safeguard this proud nation, achievable only after a peace accord or enduring ceasefire,” Rutte stated.
“The second tier involves robust security guarantees jointly provided by Europe and the United States,” he added.
Vance underscored Trump’s prior pledge that Ukraine will not host American boots on the ground as part of any security arrangement.
“The president has been explicit: American soldiers will not be deployed to Ukraine, yet we will keep working actively to ensure Kyiv gains the security assurances and confidence required to halt hostilities,” he said.
Asked about Putin’s June remark—“I regard Russians and Ukrainians as one people. In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours”—and whether Ukraine has the right to exist, Lavrov responded, “Ukraine may exist on the condition that it allows people to leave.”
“Those Kyiv labels ‘terrorists’—people who, in multiple referenda in Novorossiya, Donbas and Crimea, expressed their desire to belong to Russian culture—face a government installed after a coup that set out to eradicate anything Russian,” Lavrov alleged.
Zelenskyy has consistently opposed relinquishing sovereign land to Russia, maintaining that the nation’s constitution forbids such concessions.
Confronted about the invasion itself, Lavrov countered, “Russia launched a special military operation to protect the people whom Zelenskyy and his predecessor refused to treat as human beings.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
