Vance Lays Out How Zelensky Could Salvage Relationship With US In First Interview Since Oval Office Blow Up

Vice President JD Vance explained how the United States and Ukraine could have a path forward for a relationship in his first interview since the world leaders of the two countries argued in the Oval Office.

While meeting Friday in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vance got into a heated argument in front of the press. The Ukrainian president openly criticized the U.S. for not stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin. The argument led to Trump cancelling the planned joint press conference, kicking the world leader out of the White House, with no minerals deal signed. Vance sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday to detail what went down and the U.S.’ conditions for moving forward with Zelenskyy. (RELATED: US Pauses Military Aid To Ukraine)

“President Trump has said clearly and consistently, of course, the door is open. So long as Zelenskyy is willing to seriously talk peace. You can’t come into the Oval Office or anywhere else and refuse to even discuss the details of a peace deal,” Vance told Hannity about whether there was still a path forward.

“Look, this is not going to make anybody happy. The Russians are going to have to give up stuff. The Ukrainians are going to have to give up stuff. You can’t come to the Oval Office and say, ‘give us security guarantees.’ We won’t even engage with you about what we’re willing to give up. That’s been the Ukrainian posture. When that posture changes, as President Trump said, when they’re willing to talk peace, I think President Trump will be the first person to pick up the phone,” he added.

After the blow up, Trump took to TruthSocial to share that he didn’t think Zelenskyy was ready to negotiate and that discussions for the day were done. The back-and-forth between the three leaders began after Zelenskyy argued that the U.S. failed to stop Putin, setting off the vice president, who accused the Ukrainian president of being “disrespectful” and conducting “propaganda tours.”

Administration officials told the Daily Caller after the blow up that they fully expected to reach a deal with Zelenskyy when he came to the White House but it appeared that the Ukrainian president’s inability to know how to work with Trump and Vance got in the way.

Sources close to Zelenskyy told Fox News that the Ukrainian president was presented with the minerals agreement by the Trump administration before his Oval Office meeting without guaranteed security initiatives to help Ukraine in the event of another Russian invasion, reportedly upsetting the world leader. Zelenskyy later confirmed in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that he would not enter peace agreements with Russia without security guarantees. (RELATED: Zelenskyy Says He Still Wants To Sign Mineral Deal With US After Oval Office Spat With Trump)

A White House official seemed to echo the report to Semafor, adding that Zelenskyy was “talking about security guarantees” and “getting ahead of what today was for, which was the economic deal.”

Vance told Hannity that Trump knows Zelenskyy needs security guarantees and that the best way for him to have those is to “give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.” Such, he added, gives America a long-term interest.

“If [Zelenskyy] called tomorrow and said, ‘I am ready to adopt your plan for peace,’ can he come back?” Hannity asked Vance.

“If he called and had a serious proposal for how he was going to engage in the process, look, there are details that really matter that we’re already working on with the Russians. We’ve already talked to some of our allies, he needs to engage seriously on the details. I think once that happens, then absolutely, we want to talk,” Vance said, adding that he isn’t convinced Ukraine is willing to meet the negotiations half way.

In the moments immediately after the Ukraine-U.S. Oval Office blow up, Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a historically staunch defender of Ukraine, said that Zelenskyy “obliterated” the U.S.’s efforts to increase its diplomatic relations with Ukraine, and suggested that such might be “irredeemable” in the eyes of the American people.

“My message to Ukrainians, by the way, to President Zelenskyy, is, when you’ve lost Lindsey Graham, that means you need to come to the negotiating table and recognize Donald Trump is the only game in town,” Vance said Monday. “He’s the only person who, I think, has a meaningful plan to save that country.”