WASHINGTON, February 20. /TASS/. Europe is on the cusp of lasting peace for the first time in three years, and that’s in the interests of all sides, US Vice President JD Vance said at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
"I really believe that we're on the cusp of peace in Europe for the first time in three years, because we have leadership from the Oval Office, and we haven't had it in four years in this country," he said.
Vance acknowledged that the settlement process in Ukraine is still at an early stage, but expressed confidence that US President Donald Trump’s administration will be able to achieve a peace deal.
"He wants to bring lasting peace to Europe. Because the President believes this, and he's absolutely right. Peace is in the interest of Russia. It's in the interest of Ukraine. It's in the interest of Europe, but most importantly, peace is in the interest of the American people," he said.
One of Trump’s strengths is that "he doesn't take anything off the table," according to the vice president.
"Of course, that makes the heads explode in the American media, because they say, ‘Why are you talking to Russia?’ Well, how are you going to end the war? Unless you're talking to Russia, you've got to talk to everybody involved in the fighting if you actually want to bring the conflict to a close," he said.
Russian and US delegations held talks on February 18 that lasted about 4 1/2 hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev. The US team included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The talks were made possible by a phone conversation between the Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, on February 12. The two leaders discussed a number of international issues, including the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, and agreed to arrange a face-to-face meeting.