Vice President Vance jokes that World Cup fans could be deported
Vice President JD Vance said while they are excited to welcome fans for the World Cup, he joked that people “have to go home” once it’s done.
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance says that the U.S. believes the next step in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war is for both nations to agree to basic guidelines for direct talks – and the U.S. is willing to participate in the conversations.
“But it’s very important for the Russians and the Ukrainians to start talking to one another,” Vance said May 7 at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, D.C. “We think that is the next big step that we would like to take.”
The vice president said the Trump administration believes it is probably impossible to mediate the conflict without at least some direct conversations between the nations that have been at war since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. Russia doesn’t view that as in their strategic interests, Vance said.
“So we’ve tried to move beyond the obsession with the 30-day ceasefire, and more on what the long-term settlement look like, and we’ve tried to consistently advance the ball,” the vice president added.
Vance took a more congenial approach to the discussion than he did during a February speech at the group’s marquee conference in Munich that sparked backlash from American allies after he blasted European nations for dismissing the concerns of their electorate and combating misinformation through censorship.
In the Feb. 14 Munich speech, Vance told European nations that the biggest threat to European security is not China, Russia or any other external actor. “What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values,” he said.
But in Washington, he made a softer play, telling the group that his Munich was meant to apply to the Biden administration as much as it did Europe.
“It’s not Europe bad, America good,” Vance said.
Rather, he said both nations got a “little bit off track” in recent years. “I’d encourage us all to get back on track together.”