Vice President JD Vance voiced confidence that the United States would be able to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, even as others in the Trump administration express doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about negotiations.
“We think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private. So the negotiations, I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close,” Vance said as he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday in Rome, where he will spend Good Friday through Easter.
Vance’s comments stand in contrast to those made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio just hours earlier, who warned that if there aren’t legitimate signs of progress in the coming days, President Donald Trump could halt his efforts to negotiate a peace deal.
RUBIO FLOATS IDEA THAT US WILL ‘MOVE ON’ FROM RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end,” Rubio told reporters after meeting with Ukrainian and European officials in Paris, France. “So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.”
Rubio also added that if a deal is not possible, “then I think we’re just going to move on.”
Trump told reporters on Thursday that a long-delayed minerals deal will be signed next week, which could help on the Ukrainian side of negotiations.
Meloni and Vance met in the Oval Office on Thursday, during which the prime minister and Trump discussed negotiating a new trade deal between the United States and the European Union.
“We think Italy can be a reliable and serious partner in Europe, in the Mediterranean, in the Mediterranean area, and so we are proud to have this special relation with U.S. and with this administration,” Meloni said during the brief press conference in Rome.
On Friday morning, Trump and Meloni also released a joint statement that reaffirmed the two nations’ cooperation on trade, Ukraine, and technology. Trump accepted Meloni’s invitation to visit sometime in “the very near future.”
“The U.S. and Italy underscore that the war in Ukraine must end, and fully endorse President Trump’s leadership in brokering a ceasefire and delivering a just and lasting peace,” the statement said.
While in Rome, Vance, a convert to Catholicism, is also meeting with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, but he is not expected to meet with Pope Francis, whom he has feuded with over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Vance led the audience at the 20th National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in prayer for the ailing pope in February.
“Every day since I heard of Pope Francis’s illness, I say a prayer for the Holy Father because while yes, I was certainly surprised when he criticized our immigration policy in the way that he has, I also know that the pope, I believe that the pope is fundamentally a person who cares about the flock of Christians under his, under his leadership,” Vance said.
The vice president is in Italy with second lady Usha Vance and their children Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel. He is also set to visit India, where he will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.