Vance: Russia refused to meet with Ukraine or with Trump or other US officials

In recent weeks, Russia has refused to hold bilateral meetings with Ukraine and trilateral meetings with the US president Donald Trump or other officials of his administration. This was announced by the vice president of the United States J.D. Vance in an interview with Fox News.

Vance explained Trump's new rhetoric on Russia's war against Ukraine by the changed realities on the ground, where "the Russians killing a lot of people, losing a lot of people – and they have little to show for it."

"We remain committed to peace, but it takes two to tango. And, unfortunately, as we have seen over the last few weeks, the Russians have refused to come to the table in any bilateral meetings with the Ukrainians. They have refused to participate in any trilateral meetings where President [Trump] or any other member of the administration could sit down with the Russians and Ukrainians," the vice president emphasized.

According to him, the United States wants peace and has been actively seeking it since the beginning of the second Trump administration, but "the Russians have to wake up and accept reality."

"Many people are dying. They [the Russians] don't have much to show for it. How many more people are they willing to lose? How many more people are they willing to kill for a very small, if any, military advantage on the ground? I think the answer, hopefully, is 'not many,'" the politician explained.

He added that Washington has the following position: the US will continue to work for peace, and it hopes that the Russians will finally realize the state of affairs on the ground.

• On September 23, Trump, after meeting with president Zelenskyy, wrote a post in which he stated that Ukraine can regain all its territories with the support of the EU, but Russia is in great economic trouble.
• Zelenskyy said he was "pleasantly surprised" by his American counterpart's statement, but admitted that the US president may change his mind.
• Foreign minister Sybiha said that during the meeting, Zelenskyy and Trump, in particular, discussed lifting the taboo on arms supplies to Ukraine.