Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike in the village of Sknyliv on the outskirts of Lviv recently — Reuters NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters/AFP): US Vice President JD Vance said Russia has made "significant concessions" towards a negotiated settlement in its war with Ukraine and was confident progress was being made despite the lack of clear advances towards ending the conflict.
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker", Vance said Russian President Vladimir Putin has made several concessions, including that Ukraine will receive security guarantees protecting against future Russian aggression.
"I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict," Vance said in comments aired on Sunday.
"They've recognized that they're not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they've acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that a group of nations including United Nations Security Council members should be the guarantors of Ukraine's security.
On Friday President Donald Trump renewed a threat to impose sanctions on Russia if there was no progress toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks, showing frustration at Moscow a week after his meeting with Putin in Alaska.
Vance said sanctions would be considered on a case-by-case basis, acknowledging that new penalties were unlikely to prompt Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Vance pointed to Trump's announcement this month of an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods as a punishment for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil as the kind of economic leverage that would be used in pursuit of peace.
"He's tried to make it clear that Russia can be re-invited into the world economy if they stop the killing, but they're going to continue to be isolated if they don't stop the killing," Vance said.
Germany is ready to held Ukraine obtain reliable security guarantees to ensure "lasting peace" once the conflict with Russia ends, Germany's vice chancellor said Monday on a visit to Kyiv.
Lars Klingbeil also said that Germany, Ukraine's biggest military backer after the United States, planned to spend nine billion euros ($10.5 billion) supporting Kyiv this year and in 2026.
"As long as this war continues, we will stand by Ukraine's side, because it is also about our freedom and our security," said the Social Democrat politician.
Kyiv is working with allies to hash out security guarantees seen as crucial in bringing the more than three-year-old war to an end.
Klingbeil, while noting discussions were in the early stages, stressed that guarantees would have to be reliable to "ensure lasting peace" for Ukraine.
"What is important is that there are security guarantees in the end that ensure Ukraine is no longer attacked," he said.
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