According to a Friday 17 of October, 2025, report by Anadolu English, the United States (U.S.) Vice President, JD Vance, has warned that, despite months of diplomatic efforts, peace remains elusive in the Russia-Ukraine war, and unrealistic battlefield expectations may be a major obstacle.
In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Vance said that both sides remain unwilling to strike a deal. “As much as energetic diplomacy from the president of the United States can get people to the one-yard line, eventually you have to have the two parties who are willing to cut a deal,” he said.
The Vice President emphasized that, while American diplomacy continues, neither Russia, nor Ukraine appears ready to make meaningful concessions. “For all of our work, and we’re going to keep on working at it, the Russians and the Ukrainians are just not at the point where they can make a deal,” he explained, adding that a resolution is still possible but “will require a lot more work.”
A key factor blocking progress, according to Vance, is Moscow’s distorted perception of its own military performance. “The Russians tend to think that they’re doing better on the battlefield than they actually are,” he said. That overconfidence, he suggested, is feeding into Russia’s reluctance to negotiate, creating what he called a “misalignment of expectations.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has expressed growing alarm over U.S. military support to Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the state of negotiations as entering a “dramatic stage,” and voiced “extreme concern” over the potential transfer of American Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv.
Further complicating the situation, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, claimed that Moscow had agreed in principle to a proposal discussed during the August summit in Alaska between Presidents Trump and Putin. He said Russia is still waiting for a formal response from Washington.
Lavrov also warned that supplying long-range weapons, like Tomahawks, “could lead to a serious escalation,” and called for renewed dialogue around North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO’s) expansion and the fate of contested regions.
As talks stall and tensions rise, Vance’s remarks suggest that until Moscow reassesses its position on the battlefield, a diplomatic breakthrough remains unlikely. See, More, Here>>>
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