US may send troops to Ukraine if Moscow disrupts talks, US vice president says
Pravda Ukraine
US Vice President JD Vance stated on 13 February that Washington would impose sanctions on Moscow and potentially take military action if Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that ensures Kyiv’s long-term independence.
Source: European Pravda, citing Vance in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)
Quote from the WSJ: “Vance said the option of sending US troops to Ukraine if Moscow failed to negotiate in good faith remained ‘on the table’, striking a far tougher tone than did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Wednesday suggested the US wouldn’t commit forces.”
Quote from Vance: “There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage the US could use against Putin.”
Details: Meanwhile, he suggested that “there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people”.
The US vice president also stressed that Trump “is not going to go in this with blinders on”.
“He’s going to say, ‘Everything is on the table, let’s make a deal’,” Vance noted.
He pointed out that it is too early to determine how much Ukrainian territory might remain under Russian control or what security guarantees the US and other Western allies might provide to Kyiv, saying that these details should be worked out during peace talks.
“There are any number of formulations, of configurations, but we do care about Ukraine having sovereign independence,” Vance said.
He added that the Trump administration will try to convince Putin that Russia will achieve more at the negotiating table than on the battlefield.
However, the US vice president admitted that Trump could change his mind depending on how the talks unfold.
“President Trump could say, look, we don’t want this thing, we might not like this thing, but we’re willing to put it back on the table if the Russians aren’t being good negotiating partners, or there are things that are very important to Ukrainians that we might want to take off the table,” Vance said.
Background:
- On 14 February, Vance is expected to deliver a speech at the Munich Security Conference and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- The Munich Security Conference, Trump said, will include a meeting with representatives of Ukraine and Russia.
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