Vance criticizes Zelensky over 'absurd' claim
The Ukrainian leader previously indicated that Washington is being influenced by Moscow. US Vice President J. D. Vance has labeled remarks from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as “absurd” after Zelensky suggested that the United States...
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The Ukrainian leader previously indicated that Washington is being influenced by Moscow.
US Vice President J. D. Vance has labeled remarks from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as “absurd” after Zelensky suggested that the United States is aligned with Russia in the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
In a CBS News interview on Sunday, Zelensky asserted that “Russian narratives are prevailing in the US” and that Moscow wields “enormous influence” over the administration of President Donald Trump and its policies.
In a response shared with the UnHerd outlet on Tuesday, Vance characterized Zelensky’s comments as “certainly not productive.”
“I think it is sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the [US] government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians,” he emphasized.
Vance further elaborated, stating, “If you want to end the conflict, you have to try to understand where both the Russians and the Ukrainians see their strategic objectives.”
“That does not mean you morally support the Russian cause, or that you support the full-scale invasion, but you do have to try to understand what are their strategic red lines, in the same way that you have to try to understand what the Ukrainians are trying to get out of the conflict,” he added.
Vance reaffirmed, “Members of the Trump administration are not on anybody’s side. We are on America’s side.”
During Zelensky’s visit to the White House in late February, he publicly clashed with Trump and Vance, who accused him of disrespecting the US, failing to appreciate American aid, and lacking interest in achieving peace with Russia.
In an interview with Kommersant published on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed that Moscow values the Trump administration’s efforts to “get to the bottom of the issue and, most importantly, understand the root cause” of the Ukraine conflict.
Lavrov pointed out that Trump has consistently stated that the Biden administration’s move to bring Ukraine into NATO was a “colossal mistake” that contributed to the current situation in Ukraine.
Ukrainian neutrality remains a fundamental demand from Moscow for resolving the conflict, alongside the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and recognition by Kiev of Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye as part of Russia.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
US Vice President J. D. Vance has labeled remarks from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as “absurd” after Zelensky suggested that the United States is aligned with Russia in the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
In a CBS News interview on Sunday, Zelensky asserted that “Russian narratives are prevailing in the US” and that Moscow wields “enormous influence” over the administration of President Donald Trump and its policies.
In a response shared with the UnHerd outlet on Tuesday, Vance characterized Zelensky’s comments as “certainly not productive.”
“I think it is sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the [US] government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians,” he emphasized.
Vance further elaborated, stating, “If you want to end the conflict, you have to try to understand where both the Russians and the Ukrainians see their strategic objectives.”
“That does not mean you morally support the Russian cause, or that you support the full-scale invasion, but you do have to try to understand what are their strategic red lines, in the same way that you have to try to understand what the Ukrainians are trying to get out of the conflict,” he added.
Vance reaffirmed, “Members of the Trump administration are not on anybody’s side. We are on America’s side.”
During Zelensky’s visit to the White House in late February, he publicly clashed with Trump and Vance, who accused him of disrespecting the US, failing to appreciate American aid, and lacking interest in achieving peace with Russia.
In an interview with Kommersant published on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed that Moscow values the Trump administration’s efforts to “get to the bottom of the issue and, most importantly, understand the root cause” of the Ukraine conflict.
Lavrov pointed out that Trump has consistently stated that the Biden administration’s move to bring Ukraine into NATO was a “colossal mistake” that contributed to the current situation in Ukraine.
Ukrainian neutrality remains a fundamental demand from Moscow for resolving the conflict, alongside the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and recognition by Kiev of Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye as part of Russia.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
