Russia-Ukraine war ‘not going to end anytime soon’, says VP JD Vance amid US' warning to withdraw from peace talks

Amid United States' warning on Tuesday that Washington may pull back from mediating the Russia-Ukraine conflict unless both countries present “concrete proposals”, Vice-President JD Vance, in an interview to Fox News on Thursday, said Russia-Ukraine war is “not going to end soon”.

It is "going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are. It's going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict," Reuters quoted Vance as saying in the Fox News interview, adding “It's not going anywhere, Bret. It's not going to end any time soon.”

This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring a three-day, unilateral ceasefire on Monday, in honour of Victory Day on May 9, marking Russia’s victory against Nazi Germany in World War II. He declined a broader 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and the United States, which the Ukraine asked why Moscow would not agree to Kyiv's call for a ceasefire with at least 30 days and beginning immediately.

What Trump said earlier

Trump had called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's position “harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia”, stating that Crimea “was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion.”

“'Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There’s nothing to talk about here'. This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” Trump had stated on social media.

"Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” Trump had added.

Zelensky, Putin responses

Zelensky firmly rejected the idea of giving up any Ukrainian territory to Russia ahead of a planned meeting in London on Wednesday with US European, and Ukrainian officials. "There is nothing to negotiate. This is our land — the land of the Ukrainian people," he had said. "We all want this war to end in a fair way — with no rewards for Putin, especially no land," Zelensky told an event in Poland by videoconference.

“Emotions have run high today. But it is good that 5 countries met to bring peace closer. Ukraine, the USA, the UK, France and Germany. The sides expressed their views and respectfully received each other’s positions. It’s important that each side was not just a participant but contributed meaningfully,” he had posted on X, adding, “Ukraine will always act in accordance with its Constitution and we are absolutely sure that our partners in particular the USA will act in line with its strong decisions.”