Vance expects territorial concessions from Russia, Ukraine in potential peace deal
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on April 23 that the U.S. presented a "very explicit proposal" to Russia and Ukraine on a peace deal, repeating warnings Washington might drop its peace effort if the belligerent sides refuse.
Talking to journalists during a visit to India, Vance said that it is time for Kyiv and Moscow "to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process."
"We have engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy and on the ground work. We really tried to understand things from the perspectives of both Ukrainians and Russians," he said. "I think that we put together a very fair proposal."
Vance added that "it's now time to take, if not the final step, one of the final steps"— with all parties agreeing to stop the fighting, freeze territorial lines "at some level close to where they are," and pursue a long-term diplomatic settlement.
The U.S. vice president also said that the two sides would have to give up some of the territory they control. Vance noted that eventual borders may not exactly follow the current front line but stressed it is currently necessary to lay down arms and "freeze" the war.
Following Vance's remarks, a spokesperson for Downing Street told AFP on April 23: "We support U.S.-led efforts to bring about a lasting end to the war. I think that is what we all want. Ultimately, it must be for Ukraine to decide its future."
The comments follow reporting that the U.S. is ready to recognize Russia's de jure control over Crimea and de facto control over occupied territories in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts as part of a peace deal.
Moscow occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's sovereign territory. This includes Crimea and parts of the Donbas region occupied in 2014, and additional territories conquered after the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the possibility of recognizing Russian hold over Crimea.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said his country will abandon the ceasefire effort in the coming days unless progress is made. Top European, Ukrainian, and U.S. diplomats were set to discuss Trump's peace plan in London on April 23, but the meeting was downgraded after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not attend.
Earlier, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron told AFP that "respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity and its European aspirations are very strong demands of the Europeans."
The source added that while French, British, and German officials were meeting with American and Ukrainian envoys in London for ceasefire talks, "the objective remains to build a common approach that the United States could present to the Russians."
Kateryna Hodunova
