ROME, May 19. /TASS/. US Vice President JD Vance has once again warned that the United States will withdraw from the process of settling the Ukrainian conflict is Moscow and Kiev fail to reach an agreement.
"We want to see outcomes. And the first major outcome that we wanted to see, which we were glad about, is that we wanted the Russians and Ukrainians to put a real peace proposal on the table," he told reporters before leaving Rome for Washington.
He noted that "there's a bit of an impasse" at the talks on settling the Ukrainian conflict but the United States is ready to be "a partner for peace." "We're going to try to end it, but if we can't end it, we're eventually going to say, ‘You know what? That was worth the try, but we're not doing anymore," Vance said.
He refused to comment on US Donald Trump’s scheduled call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "I won't prejudge the President's conversation. Actually, I was just on the phone with him. I know he's looking forward to it, and I wish him all the best. I think he's the right guy to negotiate for the country, and I'm excited about it," he added.
Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, their first since 2022, were held in Istanbul on May 16, lasting nearly two hours. Head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky, who serves as a Russian presidential aide, said after the talks that the Russian side is satisfied with their results and is ready to continue contacts. According to Russia’s chief negotiator, the sides agreed to exchange 1,000 Russian POWs for 1,000 Ukrainian POWs. He also said that Ukraine had requested direct talks between the two countries’ leaders and the Russian side had "taken note of this request.".