Vance explains why Zelenskyy-Putin meeting before Alaska summit won't work

Vance said Trump should act as mediator and bring the Ukrainian and Russian leaders together to resolve the war. He added that a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting before Putin's meeting with Trump is unlikely to be productive.

"We're, of course, going to talk to the Ukrainians. I actually spoke with the Ukrainians this morning. Marco (US Secretary of State –ed.) has been talking to them quite a bit. We're going to keep that dialogue open. But fundamentally, this is something where the President (Trump -ed.) needs to force President Putin and President Zelenskyy to really sit down to figure out their differences," he explained.

Vance also said the US condemns the Russian invasion but stressed that the priority now is to establish peace.

"We, of course, condemn the invasion that happened. We don't like that this is where things are. But you've got to make peace here. And the only way to make peace is to sit down and talk. You can't finger-point. You can't wag your finger at somebody and say, 'You're wrong, we're right.' The way to peace is to have a decisive leader sit down and force people to come together," the Vice President said.

On August 8, Trump announced a meeting with Putin in Alaska scheduled for August 15. Before that, Trump did not rule out a territorial swap between the two countries.

Zelenskyy was not initially expected to attend the summit. However, media citing White House sources report the US administration is still considering his participation.