Vice President J.D. Vance has issued an ultimatum to Ukraine and Russia regarding America’s peace proposal to end the conflict that began in February 2022.
“It’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to exit the process,” Vance told reporters during a visit to India shortly before boarding Air Force Two on Wednesday.
According to Newsweek, reports over the weekend indicated that the United States has submitted a peace proposal to recognize Russian control over Crimea, which would mark a major breakthrough for Russian President Vladimir Putin in addition to establishing a ceasefire in the current war. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not agree with the proposal, so he has said that he will not hand over Crimea to Russia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend emergency talks on a ceasefire in London on Wednesday after the Ukrainian president’s comments, the State Department said on Tuesday, 22 April. Rubio said last week that the United States could withdraw from mediation efforts if a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is not reached soon.
In comments shared by the White House on Wednesday, April 23, Vice President Vance said that the United States had “made a very explicit proposal to both Russia and Ukraine,” drawing new territorial lines “at some level close to where they are today.”
According to Vance, this proposal would require both Ukraine and Russia to give up some of the territory they currently control and make some territorial exchanges.
Vance also said, “There’s going to have to be some territorial swaps. So, I wouldn’t say the exact lines. But we want the killing to stop, and the only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing, and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine.”
The Vice President reminded them that if Russia and Ukraine reject America’s “very fair offer,” it will be time for the United States to exit mediation.
Vice President Vance realized that a deal could be achieved soon, and, on the other hand, President Donald Trump said he hoped that the two parties would sign a ceasefire by the end of the week.
Putin reportedly told Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, during their meeting in Saint Petersburg in early April that he hoped to end the fighting on the current front lines, which would mean Russia would give up its claims to four partially occupied Ukrainian territories. In exchange, Trump administration officials said the United States would recognize Russia’s ownership of the Crimean peninsula, which is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.
Other US proposals included deploying a European defense force (in a peacekeeping role) to Ukraine and a military force on the front lines to monitor the ceasefire, according to Newsweek.
“Ukraine will not recognize the occupation of Crimea. It’s our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian citizens; there is nothing to discuss here,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Tuesday.
Trump said on social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, April 20, that he hopes Russia and Ukraine will agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of the week and “then both will start doing great business with the United States.”
