Vance threatens Russia with US military on Ukraine, if Moscow does not fulfill Trump's conditions

The American administration, represented by US Vice President Jay Dee Vance, voiced "military and economic levers of pressure" on Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not fulfill the conditions of the head of the White House Donald Trump — he will not agree to a truce with Kiev. This was stated by Vance in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

He noted that the option of sending American troops to Ukraine "remains under consideration" by Washington in case Moscow refuses to resolve the conflict.

"There are economic levers of pressure, there are, of course, military levers of pressure," he said.

The US vice president said that the Trump administration will seek to convince Putin that Russia will achieve more at the negotiating table than on the battlefield. Speaking about the statement by Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth about the unreality of returning to the borders of Ukraine as of 2014, Vance explained that Trump may change his mind depending on the course of negotiations.

In addition, Vance expressed the opinion that in the event of a successful agreement on Ukraine, the United States could reset relations with Russia, since, as he claimed, Moscow's current isolation from Western countries "makes it Beijing's junior partner."

"It's not in Putin's interest to be a little brother in a coalition with China," Vance said.

At the same time, the US vice president refused to talk about the possible parameters of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, it is still unclear which part of the Ukrainian territory will remain under Russian control and what security guarantees Kiev will receive from the United States and other Western allies.

"There are any number of formulations, configurations, but we care that Ukraine remains sovereign and independent," Vance expressed the position of the White House.

He assured that Trump "has no blinders in his eyes," according to him, the president is ready to discuss any options, but may change his mind on certain issues during the negotiations.

"I think a deal will come out of this that will shock a lot of people," he added.

Vance commented on the situation with security guarantees for Ukraine from the United States and the West, noting that it was too early to talk about it. As he stressed, this problem, as well as the issue of the borders of Ukraine and Russia will be discussed at the talks.

"There are different formulations, configurations, but it is important to us that Ukraine has sovereign independence," the US vice president says.

As reported, on February 12, Hegset at the next meeting of the contact group of the West in Brussels stressed that returning to the borders of Ukraine as of 2014 is an "unrealistic task." He actually ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and warned Europe that, according to the Trump administration, it itself should be engaged in ensuring its security.

On February 12, Putin and Trump discussed in a telephone conversation, among other things, the prospects for a settlement on Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Trump promoted an early truce with the cessation of hostilities on Ukraine. Putin insisted on the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be achieved through peaceful negotiations.