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U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance tends to take a tougher stance in conversations about the Ukraine mining deal than President Donald Trump. Some European officials who have met privately with Vance describe his interactions as professional and less overtly political than his public appearances.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
European officials familiar with the negotiations to bridge the rift between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy and get them to sign a proposed mining deal reportedly said the vice president often took a tougher line than the president.
His approach contrasts with figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Volz, and Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg, who have appeared to take more moderate positions, the officials said.
Vance drew ire again this week when he dismissed the value of any security guarantees Ukraine might receive “from some random country that hasn’t been at war in 30 or 40 years” in an interview with Fox News. Vance, who served as a U.S. Marine Corps war correspondent in Iraq, said it would be “absurdly dishonest” to say he was referring to Britain and France.
However, officials from across the political spectrum in the UK condemned the comments, many of them citing the fact that their country’s representatives have long served alongside the Americans in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
What happened earlier: US President Donald Trump allegedly wants to link the signing of a mining deal with Ukraine to Kyiv’s agreement to an early ceasefire in the war with Russia, which has been waging a full-scale invasion for more than three years.
