Vance Says Russia Has Made 'significant Concessions' In Ukraine Talks. Has It?

Faced pinch a stalling bid push, Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that Russia had made "significant concessions" successful ending its warfare successful Ukraine.

There is small nationalist evidence, however, that Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved his ambitions an inch since launching his full-scale penetration successful February 2022.

Vance told NBC News' "Meet nan Press" connected Sunday that nan Kremlin had been “flexible connected immoderate of their halfway demands” — namely recognizing “that they are not going to beryllium capable to instal a puppet regime” successful Kyiv, and “that location is going to beryllium immoderate information guarantee to nan territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

That appears at likelihood pinch Russian officials, who person spent nan days since nan Trump-Putin acme successful Alaska pushing backmost connected some of these points.

Also connected “Meet nan Press” was Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who — while not advocating nan installation of a Russian puppet — made nary concealed of Moscow’s belief that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is illegitimate.

Russia was unfastened to Ukraine having information guarantees, Lavrov said past week — but only if nan Kremlin tin play a domiciled successful them, arguably rendering them useless.

"We cannot agree" to "resolve corporate information issues without nan Russian Federation. This will not work," he said astatine a news conference. "I americium judge that successful nan West and supra each successful nan United States they understand perfectly good that earnestly discussing information issues without nan Russian Federation is simply a utopia, a roadworthy to nowhere."

Far from being a caller and important concession, Lavrov made clear that nan information guarantees should beryllium based connected talks held successful Istanbul, successful 2022.

NBC News has reached retired to nan White House for remark connected whether Russia has made compromises.

Despite Lavrov's trenchant remarks, location whitethorn beryllium subtle hints that Putin is fresh to do a woody — and that's without knowing what has gone connected down closed doors.

“We don’t cognize what was said astatine Alaska, that’s nan problem," Mark Galeotti, nan British-based head of nan consultancy Mayak Intelligence, told NBC News. "It whitethorn good beryllium that what Vance is saying reflects what Putin said there.”

Though Russian officials stay steadfast, Russia’s tightly controlled media person been noticeably little captious of nan usually vilified Zelenskyy, he said. And academics adjacent to nan Kremlin person suggested location whitethorn beryllium immoderate wiggle-room to nan Kremlin’s demands.