Munich Security Conference: J.D. Vance tells Zelenskyy U.S. wants 'lasting' peace

US Vice President Vance meets with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to discuss Trump's peace efforts with Russia at Munich talks.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance pledged on Friday (February 15, 2025) that Washington sought to secure a "lasting" peace as he held a first meeting with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Donald Trump's push for a deal with Moscow.

The talks in Munich were seen as a key moment for Kyiv as it tries to keep Washington on its side after Trump stunned allies by announcing truce efforts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road," Mr. Vance said as the meeting wrapped up.

He said "good conversations" had been had with Mr. Zelenskyy about how they could reach that goal, and they would have more talks "in the days, weeks and months to come".

Mr. Zelenskyy also hailed a "good conversation", saying the encounter with Mr. Vance was "our first meeting, not last, I'm sure".

"We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace," Mr. Zelenskyy later wrote on X, adding that an envoy from Washington would visit Kyiv.

Mr. Trump rattled Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday by agreeing to launch peace talks in his first publicly announced call with Putin since returning to office.