US Vice President J.D. Vance stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin acts in Russia’s best interests. Vance believes Putin and former US President Donald Trump share a focus on their respective nations, which fosters mutual respect.
Vance’s comments followed Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska last week and a subsequent phone conversation on Monday, which occurred alongside discussions with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and EU leaders. Trump described the talks as “productive” and suggested they made a resolution to the Ukraine conflict more attainable.
During an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s show on Wednesday, Vance described Putin as “more soft-spoken than you would necessarily expect” based on Western media portrayals.
“He’s very deliberate. He’s very careful. And I think fundamentally he’s a person who looks out for the interest – as he sees it – of Russia,” Vance explained. He added that despite disagreements, Trump is willing to collaborate with Putin to reach a settlement in Ukraine, which Vance considers “an important goal for America.”
“Putin is more soft-spoken than the media portrays, very deliberate. He respects Trump because Trump fights for the American people—and he’ll work with anyone to stop the killing.”–
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle)
Trump announced on Monday that he was initiating arrangements for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, to be followed by a trilateral summit. While Moscow has not verified these plans, it has proposed increasing the seniority of delegation leaders in discussions with Ukraine.
Putin hasn’t dismissed the possibility of meeting with Zelensky but insists on prior concrete progress in negotiations. He has also cast doubt on Zelensky’s legitimacy, pointing out that his presidential term has ended and cautioning that any agreements signed by him could be overturned.
Regarding a potential Putin-Zelensky meeting, Vance stated that both he and Trump support it, believing it should proceed even if all issues aren’t resolved beforehand. He identified Ukraine’s demand for post-conflict security guarantees and Russia’s insistence on Kiev recognizing the current territorial realities as key obstacles in negotiations.
“You don’t have to solve every detail before leaders meet. Sometimes sitting face-to-face is what breaks the logjam and makes peace possible.”–
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle)
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Thursday that Putin remains open to meeting with Zelensky, but only after critical issues are “thoroughly worked-out” and the negotiation teams have created comprehensive recommendations.
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