The negotiations hinge on Moscows territorial claims and Kievs push for security guarantees, the US vice president has said

Talks on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have been narrowed to two major sticking points, centering on territorial issues and security guarantees, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Tuesday.

Moscow has called for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict but warned it will continue military action until the root causes are addressed. It insists that a settlement must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, which joined Russia following referendums, as Russian territory.

In an interview with One America News Network, Vance said talks to end the conflict have "at least narrowed it to a couple of core issues."

"One issue is territorial," Vance stated, adding: "The Russians want about 6,000 or so square kilometers that they have not yet conquered through military force. That's what the Russians want."

Vance said Ukraine, for its part, is pressing for security guarantees "whether from the Europeans or somebody else." He added: "They want confidence that if they cut a deal, the Russians aren't going to come back in a few months or a few years asking for more."

Russia has long stressed it has no intention of occupying Ukraine in full. President Vladimir Putin reiterated this when the conflict escalated in 2022, and again later when Russian troops reached Kiev but then withdrew.

Vance said negotiations have made "incredible progress," but the key question is whether "the Russians and the Ukrainians are going to walk through that door of peace." "We continue to work hard at it," he added.

"And I do think that eventually you're going to come to a peaceful settlement. The question really is whether it lasts another year or another month, whether you have another 100,000 or another million, God forbid, people die in the process."

Last week, Putin struck a cautiously optimistic note about the prospects for peace, saying "there is light at the end of the tunnel" given the US shift to mediation.

Putin and US President Donald Trump met in Alaska last month. Although the summit produced no breakthroughs, both sides described it as a positive step.

(RT.com)