JD Vance says Russia has asked for territory it hasn’t won

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Russia has asked for territory it hasn’t conquered in peace talks over its invasion of Ukraine, as the White House continues to signal frustration with Moscow in its efforts to end the war.

“Russia can’t expect to be given territory that they haven’t even conquered yet,” Vance told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum in an interview. “And that’s one of the things that they’ve put down in that initial peace plan.”

In the interview, Vance echoed statements he made at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington on Wednesday. Russia is “asking for too much,” he said at the meeting, and would likely have to make concessions.

But Vance told MacCallum on Thursday that Moscow’s sky-high demands make sense because Russia believes it is winning the war.

“We knew that the Russians’ first offer would be too much, we knew that they would ask for more than was reasonable to give, that’s how negotiations often work,” he said. “I’m not bothered by that. What would bother me is if we conclude that the Russians are not engaging in the negotiation in good faith.”

In that case, Vance said, the White House would walk away from its role as the mediator.

After initially focusing the ire of the White House predominantly on Ukraine in his efforts to broker a peace deal, President Donald Trump in recent weeks has signaled frustration with the lack of urgency coming from Russia.

The president in April fretted that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be “tapping me along,” and indicated he could employ sanctions in response.

Trump on Truth Social Thursday called for, “ideally,” a 30-day ceasefire between the two countries, with the threat of further sanctions if it isn’t respected. But Vance on Wednesday said the White House was focusing on a long-term settlement.

“The fact the Russians are offering a peace plan at all, that’s a breakthrough. The fact the Ukrainians are offering a concrete proposal, that’s a breakthrough. But we’ve got to try to get these sides a little bit closer together to achieve a lasting peace,” Vance said. “We are not there yet, we’ll keep working on it until we decide that we ultimately can’t make any more progress.”