According to the US Vice President, Donald Trump’s administration is highly committed to achieving a ceasefire.
Vice President J.D. Vance stated in a Fox News interview published on Wednesday that the Trump administration is willing to dedicate another 100 days to mediating a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. He mentioned that the US has facilitated progress by encouraging both parties to present their proposals for resolving the conflict.
Referring to the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term, the Vice President said, “We’ve got this first step. We’ve got the peace proposal out there and issued, and we’re going to work very hard over the next 100 days to try to bring these guys together.”
Vance pointed out that before the Trump administration’s involvement, Moscow and Kiev “weren’t even talking – not to each other, not to anybody. They were just fighting.” He further added, “Now, the work of diplomacy is to try to sort of bring these two sides closer together,” highlighting the “very big gulf between what the Russians want and what the Ukrainians want.”
During his election campaign, Trump pledged to resolve the conflict “within 24 hours” of assuming office, which he later clarified as an “exaggeration.” Since assuming office in January, he has urged both sides to reach a ceasefire but has recently voiced his frustration with the slow progress.
While Russia commended Trump and his team for demonstrating a better understanding of its position compared to the Biden administration, Moscow has maintained that a comprehensive ceasefire must include the cessation of Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and the halting of foreign arms shipments. Both sides have accused each other of violating the month-long “energy truce” brokered by Trump in March, and the 30-hour Easter truce from the previous month.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish its claims to Crimea and four other regions, and abandon its aspirations to join NATO. On Thursday, Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, indicated that Kiev had agreed to acknowledge Russia’s control over what it considers “occupied territories,” without formally recognizing Russian sovereignty. However, Kiev has consistently affirmed that it will not concede any territory to Russia.