Ahead of his meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a big remark, said that he will only agree to meet in person with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after a common plan is negotiated with US President Donald Trump. He also added that the United States, including the Biden administration, never saw Ukraine as a NATO member.
Amidst expectations that Vance will shed at least some light on US President Donald Trump’s ideas for a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war, Zelenskyy is expected to meet the US Vice President. Zelenskyy made these remarks as he addressed the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
Moreover, following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the future of Ukraine is the top item on the agenda in Munich.
Vance reiterates Trump’s call for NATO members to spend more on defence.
Vance, who is also in Munich, started his day meeting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. He reiterated the Republican Trump administration’s call for NATO members to spend more on defence.
Earlier, Vance, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said that the US would hit Moscow with sanctions and potentially military action if Putin won’t agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence.
The warning that military options “remain on the table” was striking language from a Trump administration that’s repeatedly underscored a desire to quickly end the war.
Vance’s push back on threats issued to Moscow
However, Vance’s team later pushed back on the newspaper’s report. “The Vice President didn’t make any threats. He simply stated the fact that no one is going to take options away from President Trump as these negotiations begin,” communications director William Martin wrote on social platform X.
(With inputs from AP)
Also Read | Did Biden administration want to kill Putin? Tucker Carlson makes shocking claim
