Vice President JD Vance criticized Russia's demands for concessions in the ongoing Ukraine conflict, labeling them as excessive during a Munich Security Conference event. He highlighted the challenge in mediating the situation without direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, expressing frustration over both governmentsâ reluctance to meet face-to-face. The comments represented a significant criticism of Moscow from a White House official, as Vance noted the complexity of reaching a resolution amidst Russia's stringent conditions, which include Ukraine's NATO status and recognition of territory annexations.
I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution, but right now, they are asking for too much in exchange for ending the conflict.
We think it's probably impossible for us to mediate this entirely without at least some direct negotiation between the two, and so that's what we focus on.
Russia has made clear they want Ukraine to agree to certain requirements, including never joining NATO and recognizing the annexation of Crimea.
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