Vice President JD Vance visited Capitol Hill on Monday and provided a key update on the negotiations with Ukraine.
Vance was on Capitol Hill to offer a message of support for his “friend,” Elbridge Colby, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Pentagon’s No. 3 spot, undersecretary of defense for policy.
Things took a turn when a reporter asked Vance about Ukraine. Trump and Vance openly clashed with Zelenskyy during an Oval Office meeting on Friday. On Monday, Trump further slammed the Ukrainian leader for claiming that peace with Russia was “very far away,” warning Zelenskyy that America would “not put up with it for much longer.”
CNN’s Manu Raju asked Vance: “If Zelenskyy changes his posture, his focus, would there be a consideration of bringing the aid back on? Or is that an indefinite pause, a long-term pause, do you see it?”
“No, look it, the president has been very clear he wants the Ukrainians to come to the negotiating table. I think when the Ukrainians come to the negotiating table, everything is on the table,” Vance said.
Raju asked, “What do you need to see from President Zelenskyy?”
Vance replied: “Look, I think the most important thing, a lot of people have made this about public statements, President Zelenskyy needs to say that he is committed to the peace or President Zelenskyy needs to apologize to the president. The public stuff doesn’t matter nearly as much as what are the Ukrainians doing to meaningfully engage on what a peaceful settlement would look like. We need to Ukrainians privately to come to us and say, ‘This is what we need, this is what we want. This is how we’ll participate in the process to end this conflict. That is the most important thing, and that lack of private engagement is what is most concerning to us.”
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Another reporter asked: “Do you still have hope for the mineral deal? Do you believe that the mineral deal can be reached with Ukraine?”
“Yeah, I certainly do. And I think the president is still committed to the mineral deal. I think we’ve heard some positive things, but not yet, of course, the signature from our friends in Ukraine. But, look, the mineral deal is a really important part of the president’s policy. Number one, the American people have got to get some payback for the incredible financial investment we’ve made in this country,” Vance replied.
Vance added, “A lot of the aid that the Europeans have sent has come in the form of money that is getting repaid to them. Well, it’s really ridiculous and, frankly, an insult to the American people that the Europeans are getting a better deal than the American people. The president is just trying to ensure that the American people get a fair deal, while simultaneously incurring we have access to some minerals and resources that are very important for the economy of the future.”
Trump reportedly suspended all aid to Ukraine on Monday, only days after an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy escalated into a dispute regarding efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to an unnamed senior Defense Department official who spoke to Bloomberg News, the U.S. government would be “pausing all current military aid to Ukraine until Trump determines the country’s leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace.”
The unnamed source told the outlet that the pause would include “all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine,” including “weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland.”
Meanwhile, a senior Trump administration official pledged to Fox News on Monday that the move was “not a permanent termination of aid” but merely “a pause” and that the orders for the pause were “going out right now.”
The order comes after Trump and Vice President JD Vance openly clashed with Zelenskyy during an Oval Office meeting on Friday.
On Monday, Trump further slammed the Ukrainian leader for claiming that peace with Russia was “very far away,” warning Zelenskyy that America would “not put up with it for much longer.”
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump protested. “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
Trump went on to suggest that removing Zelenskyy from power could also be an option.
“I think everybody has to get into a room, so to speak, and we have to make a deal, and the deal can be made very fast,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long.”
