"He's a competitor": Trump's ally refused to recognize Putin as an enemy and called for talks with Russia

J.D. Vance, a candidate for vice president of the United States of America from the Republican Party, an ally of Donald Trump, said that negotiations with Russia are a "necessary part" of ending the war in Ukraine. He called Russian dictator Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine, not an enemy but a competitor.

This was Vance's response to the question of whether he considers Putin an ally or an enemy in an interview with NBC News ' Meet the Press on Sunday, October 27. The Ohio senator believes that the United States will have to engage in negotiations to end the war "at some level".

"If we're ever going to end the war in Ukraine, at some level we're going to have to be involved in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, between our NATO allies in Europe. This is just a necessary part," he said.

The politician believes that we need to "be smart about diplomacy",

"But I think we also have to be smart about diplomacy. Just because we don't like someone doesn't mean we can't engage in conversations with them from time to time," Vance added.

He also said that the United States will remain in NATO if Trump is elected president. According to him, Trump "wants NATO to be strong."

"He wants us to stay in NATO... We will stay in NATO," the Republican said.

At the same time, Vance noted that Trump wants NATO member states to spend more on defense. The politician criticized the imbalance in the commitments of member states and singled out Germany in particular.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, earlier J.D. Vance said that if Trump becomes president, the United States will force Ukraine and Russia to start negotiations to end the war. And if the aggressor country demands a part of Ukrainian land, Ukraine will have to give up its territories.

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