Vance told reporters that he expects Trump will ask Putin whether he is serious about pursuing peace when the two world leaders talk this morning.
“The talks have been proceeding for a little while. We realize there’s a bit of an impasse here,” Vance said. “And I think the president is going to say to President Putin, look, ‘Are you serious? Are you real about this?'”
The vice president also emphasized that the U.S. is “more than open to walking away” from peace talks between the two countries.
“The United States is not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes,” Vance said.
He said that he was not sure Putin has a strategy for ending the war and that while Trump is willing to work through a history of mistrust between Russia and the West, “that takes two to tango.”
“We’re going to try to end it, but if we can’t end it, we’re eventually going to say, ‘You know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing it anymore,'” Vance said, referring to the war in Ukraine.
Reaching a peace deal in Ukraine was a key campaign promise for Trump, though he said last month that his claim he could end the war on day one of his presidency was “an exaggeration.”