Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) on Thursday outlined what he believed would be former President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine if he wins the November election.
“I think what this looks like is Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans: ‘You guys need to figure out, what does a peaceful settlement look like?’ And what it probably looks like is something like the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine that becomes like a demilitarized zone,” he said.
Vance described the U.S. federal government’s policy in handling the Russia–Ukraine conflict as “throwing money at the problem.”
He said that Trump’s plan could also include a deal allowing Ukraine to retain its independence in exchange for guaranteeing neutrality to Russia, with Ukraine agreeing not to join NATO or other allied institutions.
“That is what the deal I think is ultimately going to look something like,” he said.
Vance said that Trump could reach a deal quickly. Trump has said that he would bring the fighting to an end within 24 hours if he were to return to the White House.
“They are scared of him in Russia, they are worried about him in Europe because they know that he actually means what he says,” the vice presidential candidate said.
“The Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans are all saying: ‘We can’t fight this war forever.’ But why the hell are you fighting it for another day if all of them are trying to find a way to solve it? ... You’re not going to solve the war but you can at least bring the thing to a stop.”
Trump criticized the billions spent on security assistance for Ukraine and declined to say whether he believed Ukraine’s victory would matter to U.S. national security, saying instead he would seek an immediate end to the war.
He also said that the situation in Ukraine and other conflicts could result in a global conflict.
“We have wars going on in the Middle East. We have wars going on with Russia and Ukraine. We’re going to end up in a third world war,” the former president said.
Harris said Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld, adding that the “reason that Donald Trump says that this war would be over within 24 hours is because he would just give it up.”
Ukraine depends on U.S. military and financial aid to continue its fight against Russian forces.
Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine must give up territory and refrain from joining NATO as a condition for starting negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has opposed the idea of conceding any Ukrainian territory to Russia.
