US Vice President JD Vance dismissed current criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “absurd,” pushing again on claims that he had justified Russia’s conflict on Ukraine.
“I think it’s sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the [American] government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians,” Vance mentioned throughout a cellphone dialog with British news outlet UnHerd.
“That kind of rhetoric is certainly not productive.”
Zelensky, in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes program aired on Sunday, accused Vance of “somehow justifying” Moscow’s actions.
The Ukrainian chief mentioned Russian narratives concerning the conflict seem to have taken maintain in Washington.
“It seems to me that the vice president is somehow justifying [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s actions. I tried to explain, ‘You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,'” he added.
Vance rejected the cost, emphasizing his longstanding condemnation of Russia’s conflict, which started in 2022, stressing the significance of understanding each the strategic aims of each side.
“That doesn’t mean you morally support the Russian cause, or that you support the full-scale invasion,” he mentioned.
“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.”
US President Donald Trump, who has engaged each Moscow and Kyiv for settlement, on Monday mentioned he believes there might be “some very good proposals very soon” to finish the battle.
Trump, Vance and Zelensky had an argument on the White House in February when the Ukrainian chief expressed doubt over the US method of attempting to the tip the conflict by way of diplomacy.
‘NOT GOOD FOR EUROPE’
Vance additionally used the chance to underscore his administration’s longstanding frustration with what he views as European complacency on protection and democratic accountability.
“It’s not good for Europe to be the permanent security vassal of the US,” he mentioned.
“We’re very frustrated — ‘we’ meaning me, the president, certainly the entire Trump administration — that European populations keep on crying out for more sensible economic and migration policies, and the leaders of Europe keep on going through these elections, and keep on offering the European peoples the opposite of what they seem to have voted for.”
Europe’s different blind spot, Vance continued, is safety.
“The reality is — it’s blunt to say it, but it’s also true — that Europe’s entire security infrastructure, for my entire life, has been subsidized by the US.”
According to him, whereas international locations just like the UK, France, and Poland are “obvious exceptions,” most European nations right this moment “don’t have militaries that can provide for their reasonable defense.”
“European leaders have radically underinvested in security, and that has to change,” Vance added.
He invoked former French chief Charles de Gaulle’s imaginative and prescient of European independence throughout the Cold War as a mannequin. “De Gaulle loved the US, but he recognized — and I certainly recognize — that it’s not in Europe’s interest, and it’s not in America’s interest, for Europe to be a permanent security vassal of the US.”
He added: “I don’t think that Europe being more independent is bad for the US — it’s good for the US. Frankly, the British and the French were certainly right in their disagreements with Eisenhower about the Suez Canal.”
The “bottom line,” Vance concluded, “I don’t want the Europeans to just do whatever the Americans tell them to do. I don’t think it’s in their interest, and I don’t think it’s in our interests, either.”
TRADE PRIORITIES
Vance additionally touched on the prospect of latest commerce agreements. He confirmed that the UK is now “at the front of the queue” for a long-sought commerce cope with Washington — regardless of ongoing tensions over Trump’s current “reciprocal” tariff strikes.
“We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government,” he mentioned. “The president really loves the UK. He loved the queen. He admires and loves the king. It is a very important relationship.”
“There’s a real cultural affinity. And of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country,” Vance mentioned. “So I think there’s a good chance we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”
He mentioned different European nations may additionally attain offers, although the trail might be more durable. “With the UK, we have a much more reciprocal relationship than we have with, say, Germany,” Vance mentioned. “While we love the Germans, they are heavily dependent on exporting to the US but are pretty tough on a lot of American businesses that would like to export into Germany.”
The administration’s tenet might be “fairness,” he mentioned. “I think it will lead to a lot of positive trade relationships with Europe. And again, we very much see Europe as our partner — but it has to be a strong partner, not a dependent one.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr