'There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage,' says JD Vance
US Vice President JD Vance has warned that the US could impose sanctions and possibly take military action if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate a peace deal with Kyiv that guarantees Ukraine's long-term independence.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday, Vance said all options remain “on the table,” including the potential deployment of US troops to Ukraine, if Moscow fails to engage in talks in good faith.
“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” that Washington could use against Putin, Vance told the WSJ.
The remarks follow President Donald Trump's announcement that he has begun negotiations with Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
“The president is not going to go into this with blinders on,” Vance said. “He's going to say: ‘Everything is on the table, let's make a deal'.”
Vance, scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, said he believes the final agreement will be unexpected.
“I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that's going to shock a lot of people,” he told the WSJ.
Vance's remarks came a day after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Ukraine would likely not recover its territory lost since 2014, would not join NATO through negotiations, and that US priorities were shifting away from European and Ukrainian security.
