US Vice President JD Vance has said that Russia has made "significant concessions" to end its conflict with Ukraine.
"The Russians have made significant concessions to President [Donald] Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict," Vance told US broadcaster NBC in an interview aired on Sunday.
"They have actually been willing to be flexible on some of their core demands. They've talked about what would be necessary to end the war," Vance said.
The US vice president said that Moscow has conceded "that Ukraine will have territorial integrity after the war. They've recognized that they're not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kiev."
Vance also reiterated that the United States would not send troops to enforce a peace agreement.
"The president has been very clear. There are not going to be boots on the ground in Ukraine," Vance said, adding that the US would "continue to play an active role in trying to ensure that the Ukrainians have the security guarantees and the confidence they need to stop the war on their end and the Russians feel like they can bring the war to a conclusion on their end."
Meanwhile, hopes of a face-to-face meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future have largely evaporated following statements from Moscow, contrary to Trump's expectations.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said that Moscow currently sees no basis for a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin. "Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov told NBC on Friday.
Lavrov also repeated demands more reminiscent of conditions for Ukraine's capitulation than a genuine peace offer.
There has been little progress so far in the direct negotiations between Kiev and Moscow at a lower level, which have been ongoing since May.
Amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine, Trump said on Friday that a peace agreement between the two countries could still take weeks. "I think over the next two weeks, we're going to find out which way it's going to go," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Russia launched its war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
