Speaking at a security forum of senior defense and diplomatic officials in Washington, Vance told participants the administration is still pressing Russia and Ukraine to open direct talks, but will “walk away” if progress stalls.
“The Russians are asking for a certain set of concessions to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said in an on‑stage interview with Munich Security Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger.
President Donald Trump, asked later about Vance’s remarks, said “It’s possible that’s right,” adding: “We’re getting to a point where decisions will have to be made. I’m not happy about it.”
Frustration in Washington
Senior officials, including Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have grown impatient over what they see as Russia’s inflexibility, U.S. sources say.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff has held four rounds of talks with President Vladimir Putin this year, but none has produced concrete concessions.
Vance repeated earlier warnings that Trump could abandon the diplomatic track if talks bog down.
“We need the Russians and Ukrainians to agree on basic guidelines for sitting down together,” he said.
“The United States is ready to help, but they need to start talking to each other.”
Threat of new sanctions
After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican last month, Trump threatened secondary sanctions against Russia over continued missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas,” Trump wrote at the time.
“It makes me think he doesn’t want to stop the war and has to be dealt with differently.”
Russian stance unchanged
Moscow has demanded a rollback of NATO deployments, limits on Ukraine’s security posture and a say in Kyiv’s domestic affairs, according to Russian officials.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week that NATO expansion and “violations of minority rights” in Ukraine were root causes of the conflict, adding that Washington was “gaining a better understanding” of Russia’s position.
(jh)
Source: The Guardian, CNN, Politico