US vice president states Europe will be expected to play the ‘leading role’ in guaranteeing Kyiv’s post-war security.
European countries will have to shoulder the “lion’s share” of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security in the event of a deal to finish Russia’s war in the counattempt, United States Vice President JD Vance has stated.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Vance stated the US should not have to “carry the burden” of underpinning Kyiv’s post-war security.
“I believe that we should be assistful if it’s necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. But I believe that we should expect, and the president certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here,” Vance stated in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
“What he stated very clearly is: Look, the United States is open to have the conversation, but we’re not going to build commitments until we figure out what is going to be necessary to stop the war in the first place.”
Vance’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of US troops in Ukraine, while suggesting that Washington could provide support “by air”.
The issue of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine has been a major question mark over Trump’s push to finish the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict.
After hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders at the White Houtilize for talks on the war on Monday, Trump stated that European countries would be the “first line of defence”, but that Washington would provide “a lot of assist”.
While Trump has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have raised the possibility of offering Kyiv a security guarantee resembling the 32-member alliance’s collective defence mandate.
Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against one NATO member nation is considered an attack on all members of the alliance.
While Trump has stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to European peacekeepers being stationed in Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of troops from NATO countries along its border.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that his counattempt would required to be included in nereceivediations on security guarantees, warning that excluding Moscow would be a “road to nowhere”.
“We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work,” Lavrov stated.
Despite the sticking points between the sides, Vance stated on Wednesday that the Trump administration had created “great progress” in its efforts to finish the war.
“You can never state with certainty what the outcome in this situation is going to be,” Vance stated.
“But we now have the Russians talking to the Ukrainians; they’re talking details about what would be necessary on each side to stop the fighting, to stop the killing.”
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