Vice President J.D. Vance stated Wednesday that the Trump administration believes Russia is demanding “too much” in the ongoing peace negotiations with Ukraine.

Speaking during a Q&A session at the Munich Security Conference, Vance addressed several foreign policy topics, including the war in Ukraine and efforts to broker a resolution. He said President Donald Trump has been working to “understand where the other side is coming from” in pursuit of ending the conflict.

Although the peace talks have faced repeated setbacks during Trump’s first 100 days in office, Vance expressed optimism that a negotiated agreement remains possible.

“I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution. What I would say is right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” the vice president said.

The Trump administration seeks to reduce its involvement in mediating negotiations.

“We would like both the Russians and the Ukrainians to actually agree on some basic guidelines for sitting down and talking to one another,” Vance continued. “Obviously, the United States is happy to participate in those conversations, but it’s very important for the Russians and Ukrainians to start talking to one another.”

“We think it’s probably impossible for us to mediate this entirely without at least some direct negotiation between the two, and so that’s what we focus on,” Vance added.

JD Vance says Russia is "asking for too much" in peace talks with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/zyIIsW61Ta

— Zach Jewell (@zach_d_jewell) May 7, 2025

The Trump administration has been engaged in months-long discussions with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to bring an end to the war. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for the third time.

Among Russia’s core demands are a formal guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO and international recognition of its control over Crimea, which it invaded and annexed in 2014. Ukraine, for its part, continues to advocate for NATO membership—a position Trump dismissed in February, saying Ukraine should “forget about” joining the alliance.

Vance noted that the administration has “moved beyond” efforts to secure a 30-day ceasefire after earlier talks with Russia failed to produce progress.

“We’ve tried to move beyond the obsession with a 30-day ceasefire and more on what the long-term settlement would look like,” he said. “And we’ve tried to consistently advance the ball.”