Vance Says Russia Turned Down Talks with Trump

(MENAFN) Russia has firmly turned down requests for trilateral discussions involving U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance revealed in an interview with media on Sunday.

Trump has become increasingly frustrated with the slow progress of peace talks in Ukraine. Moscow, in turn, claims that Kyiv has shown little interest in dialogue, citing its reliance on "megaphone diplomacy" and the dismissal of Russian peace proposals.

“Unfortunately, what we have seen over the last couple weeks, the Russians have refused to sit down with any bilateral meetings with the Ukrainians,” Vance told media. “They have refused to sit down with any trilateral meetings, where the president or some other member of the administration could sit down with the Russians and the Ukrainians,” he added.

In a statement to media on Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin would welcome a meeting with Trump, should the U.S. president choose to accept the invitation and visit Moscow. The offer was made soon after their summit in Alaska last August.

“This invitation still stands,” Peskov said. “Putin is ready and will be glad to meet President Trump. It will then all depend on Trump’s decision.”

However, Peskov stressed that any meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would first require progress in peace negotiations. An “unprepared” encounter with Zelensky, he argued, would be nothing more than a "PR-stunt doomed to failure."

Moscow has consistently expressed its willingness to resolve the Ukraine conflict through diplomatic channels, signaling openness to further talks.

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