US Vice President JD Vance hinted at the cessation of hostilities along the contact lines in Ukraine as part of Washington’s peace proposal to Ukraine and Russia.
Vance, speaking to reporters in India on Wednesday, said Washington has delivered a “very explicit proposal” to Kyiv and Moscow, while reiterating earlier comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Washington would withdraw from the talks if no progress is made.
“The current lines, somewhere close to them, is where you’re ultimately, I think, going to draw the new lines in the conflict,” Vance said.
“It’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process,” he added.
Vance also hinted at territorial cessations made by both sides without divulging the details.
“Now, of course, that means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own. There’s going to have to be some territorial swaps,” Vance said, adding that he hopes the two warring nations “will meet us halfway.”
Vance’s mention of cessation of hostilities along the contact mirrored a recent purported remark from Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
According to the Financial Times (FT), Putin reportedly told US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff that Russia would drop its maximalist demand of capturing all five Ukrainian regions it claimed to have annexed in exchange for Washington’s official recognition of Crimea as Russian territory during the latter’s visit to St. Petersburg on April 11.
However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the FT report as fake news in an offhand remark without directly referencing the FT.
“There are a lot of fakes being published right now, including by respected outlets – so one should only listen to primary sources,” Peskov said.
The possibility of Washington recognizing Crimea as Russian, thus overturning its decade-old policy of non-recognition, has been among recent reports.
“Ukraine does not recognize the occupation of Crimea. It is our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian people – there is nothing to discuss,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
An executive body representing Crimea’s Tatar minority has voiced similar sentiments.
Following the statements, Rubio pulled out of a high-level talk in London with Ukraine and key Western allies on Wednesday at the last minute, purportedly due to Kyiv and its European allies’ red lines on territorial concessions.