U.S. Vice President JD Vance waves as he boards Air Force Two on May 1, 2025 in Charleston, South Carolina.<\/p>\n
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has warned Russia’s full-scale invasion<\/a> of Ukraine is not likely to come to an end “any time soon.”<\/p>\n Speaking during an interview on Fox News, Vance said on Thursday that President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s administration was working<\/a> to “find some middle ground” to stop a conflict that has been raging for more than three years.<\/p>\n “It’s not going anywhere … it’s not going to end any time soon,” Vance said.<\/p>\n His comments come shortly after the U.S. and Ukraine signed a long-awaited minerals deal<\/a>, an agreement that Vance said showed the White House is making progress.<\/p>\n He later added that while he was “optimistic” of a breakthrough in peace talks, “it’s hard to say confident” because Russia and Ukraine will “have to take the final step.”<\/p>\n After months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine on Wednesday signed an economic partnership that provides Washington with preferential access to some of Kyiv’s natural resources.<\/p>\n U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said<\/a> the “historic” agreement would allow the two countries to invest together to accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery and help to “facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war.”<\/p>\n For its part, Ukraine said the partnership was capable of delivering success for both Washington and Kyiv.<\/p>\n Since his inauguration in January, Trump has pushed for a minerals deal with Ukraine, saying an agreement\u00a0to jointly develop and monetize<\/a>\u00a0Kyiv’s deposits of rare earths, critical minerals, oil, gas and other natural resources would act, effectively, as compensation for U.S. aid to Ukraine throughout the war with Russia.<\/p>\n Before his presidential victory last fall, Trump pledged to end Russia’s war with Ukraine in just “one day<\/a>.”<\/p>\n U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned<\/a> on Tuesday that Washington could step back from its mediation efforts unless Russia and Ukraine delivered “concrete proposals” on how to end the conflict.<\/p>\n