Russian President Vladimir Putin is more a "competitor" or "adversary" to the U.S. than an enemy, Republican Senator and vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance said in an interview with NBC News on Oct. 27.
Vance's comments come just over one week before the U.S. presidential election, which carries high stakes for the future of American military support to Ukraine.
"I think that he's clearly an adversary. He is a competitor," Vance told NBC News when asked if he considers Putin an ally or enemy.
"But I think that we also have to be smart about diplomacy, too. Just because we don't like somebody, doesn't mean that we can't occasionally engage in conversations with them."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's relationship with Putin has been the subject of increased scrutiny in light of recent allegations that he held multiple phone calls with the Russian president after leaving the White House.
Trump frequently touts his good relationship with Putin on the campaign trail and has blamed U.S. President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia's full-scale invasion while failing to mention Putin. He has repeatedly called Zelensky a "salesman" who needs to "make a deal" with Russia.
Vance went on to say in the interview that negotiations with Moscow are "a necessary part" of ending the war in Ukraine.
"I think it's important if we're ever going to end the war in Ukraine, fundamentally, at some level, we're going to have to engage in some sort of negotiation between Ukraine, between Russia, between our NATO allies in Europe," he said.
Vance did not detail any potential outcomes of those negotiations, but has previously said Trump's peace plan could include establishing a so-called "demilitarized zone" between Ukraine and Russia, presumably resembling the current line of demarcation between the countries.
Zelensky called Vance's plan "too radical" and said he did not accept plans to end the war that came at Ukraine's expense.
Vance has said multiple times that he "doesn't care about Ukraine," including just days after the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Chris York
