US Vice-President JD Vance says that Washington sought to secure a “lasting” peace as he held a first meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Donald Trump’s push for a deal with Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine war.
The talks in Munich were seen as a key moment for Kyiv as it tries to keep Washington on its side after US President Trump stunned allies by announcing peace efforts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” Vance said as the meeting wrapped up.
He said “good conversations” had been had with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy about how they could reach that goal, and they would have more talks “in the days, weeks and months to come”.
Zelenskyy also hailed a “good conversation”, saying the encounter with Vance was “our first meeting, not last, I’m sure”.
“We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace,” Zelenskyy wrote later on X, adding that an envoy from Washington would visit Kyiv.
Trump rattled Ukraine and its European allies last week by agreeing to launch peace talks in his first publicly announced call with Putin since returning to office.
The dramatic thaw in relations sparked fears Ukraine could be left out in the cold after nearly three years battling against Moscow’s invasion.
US officials have insisted that Zelenskyy will be involved in negotiations – and the Ukrainian leader said he would be prepared to sit down with Putin after agreeing a “common plan” with Trump.
“Only in this case I’m ready to meet,” Zelenskyy told the Munich Security Conference before seeing Vance.
Vance said ahead of the meeting that the US was prepared to pressure Russia, adding that Europe should “of course” be at the table.
But he also told Europe to “step up” on bolstering its own defence to allow Washington to focus on threats elsewhere in the world.
US officials have sent mixed messages over Washington’s strategy after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth appeared to rule out Ukraine joining Nato or retaking all of its territory.
That has sparked major worries in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could be forced into a bad deal that leaves the continent facing an emboldened Putin.
But Vance told The Wall Street Journal that Trump would put everything “on the table” in potential talks, and that Washington could even use “military leverage” against Russia to force a deal.
He did not give more away in a keenly awaited keynote speech, as he avoided addressing the war in Ukraine and focused instead on scolding Europe over immigration and free speech.
Saudi Arabia, after being named by Trump as a likely venue for a meeting with Putin, said it would welcome holding any talks between the two leaders.
Zelenskyy appeared to play down fears that Trump was leaving Kyiv out in the cold, saying the US President had given him his personal number when they spoke.
“If he will choose our side, and if he will not be in the middle, I think he will pressure and he will push Putin to stop the war,” Zelenskyy said.
In a bid to keep Washington close, Kyiv has held talks over granting access to its rare mineral deposits in return for future US security support.
European allies, who with Washington are Ukraine’s strongest backers, demanded that they too be included in negotiations that will impact their continent’s security.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned that forcing Ukraine into a bad deal would harm US interests.
“I believe that by working together, we can deliver that just and lasting peace,” she said.
While Europe nervously monitors the US stance on Ukraine, there is little ambiguity on Trump’s determination to get Europe to spend more on its defence.
Fears that Vance could announce a major US troop reduction in Europe did not materialise, but he repeated warnings that Washington needed to focus more on other parts of the globe.
On the sidelines of the conference, Vance also met with the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, according to German press.
It comes as Vance criticised Germany for blocking the far right from gaining power in elections in just over a week, which the conservative candidate and favourite Friedrich Merz has said he refuses to enter an alliance with.
Amid the diplomatic flurry in Munich, Zelenskyy said that back on the ground in Ukraine a Russian drone had struck a cover built to contain radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, though he added that radiation levels were normal.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 133 drones across the country overnight, including attack drones, targeting northern regions of the country where the Chernobyl plant lies.
Zelenskyy said the attack was evidence that “Putin is definitely not preparing for negotiations – he is preparing to continue deceiving the world”.
- Agence France-Presse