Vice President Vance remarked in a recent interview that Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky’s assertion that the US government is aligned with Russia in the war against Ukraine is “absurd” and counterproductive.
“It’s somewhat absurd to imply to Zelensky. [American] Now, the government that is supporting his entire administration with his war effort, that we are somehow siding with the Russians,” Vance stated. UK news outlet Unherd in an interview that was released on Tuesday.
Vance indicated that such statements are “definitely not helpful.”
This phone interview on Monday followed Zelensky’s comments in a recent “60 Minutes” interview over the weekend, where he claimed that Vance “somehow appears to validate” [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s actions, referring to a controversial discussion in the Oval Office earlier this year.
“It’s a shift in tone, a shift in reality, yes, a shift in reality, and I don’t wish to engage with the altered reality being presented to me,” Zelensky stated in the interview, highlighting the administrative agency’s suggestion that both sides share blame in the conflict.
In the new interview, Vance countered Zelensky’s criticism of condemning Russia since 2022, as reported by a British news outlet.
“I also aimed to apply a strategic perspective that if we want to resolve the conflict, we need to comprehend how both Russians and Ukrainians view their strategic objectives,” Vance noted.
“This does not imply morally endorsing Russian interests or supporting their full-scale aggression, but we must strive to grasp their strategic boundaries just as we endeavor to understand what Ukrainians seek to achieve to resolve the conflict,” he added.
