Russia refuses talks with Ukraine even with Trump, Vance says it must wake up
Photo: US Vice President J.D. Vance (Getty Images)
Russia has refused bilateral talks with Ukraine, as well as trilateral meetings involving US President Donald Trump. Moscow, however, needs to wake up and face reality, reports the Clash Report, citing US Vice President J.D. Vance.
The US Vice President believes the situation on the ground has changed. Russian forces are killing many people while suffering heavy losses themselves, leaving them with nothing to boast about.
Vance added that the Trump administration still seeks peace, noting that achieving it requires steps from both sides. Yet Russia has refused to negotiate.
"Unfortunately, what we've seen over the last couple of weeks is that the Russians have refused to sit down with any bilateral meetings with the Ukrainians. They've refused to sit down with any trilateral meetings where the president or some other member of the administration (Trump -ed.) could sit down with the Russians and the Ukrainians," Vance said.
He stressed that Russia must wake up and face reality, reiterating that Moscow is suffering heavy losses and achieving almost no results.
"We've been actively pursuing peace from the very beginning of the administration, but the Russians have got to wake up and accept reality here. A lot of people are dying. They don't have a lot to show for it. How many more people are they willing to lose? How many more people are they willing to kill for very little, if any, gain in the military advantage on the ground there? I think the answer is hopefully not that much...," Vance added.
He said the US will continue working toward peace and expressed hope that Russia will eventually recognize the reality on the ground.
Putin refuses a meeting
In August, a summit took place in Alaska between Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Shortly after, the US President hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House.
Following these meetings, a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin was expected, followed by a trilateral meeting including Trump. Russia, however, ultimately declined.
Recently, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine and other countries even proposed holding a meeting in Kazakhstan. Putin, according to Zelenskyy, wants to continue the war and therefore refused to meet.
