MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin announced on Friday that it was looking for further clarity regarding comments made by Vice President JD Vance implying that the United States possessed both military and economic leverage to compel Russia to agree to a favorable peace deal with Ukraine. Following backlash from certain European nations in response to a recent conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vance stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, just before the Munich Security Conference, that the U.S. had various tools at its disposal to persuade Russia to reach a resolution to end the ongoing conflict. “There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage,” Vance highlighted. When asked about the mention of military leverage, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed the Kremlin’s interest in seeking further information. “This was a new element in the (U.S.) stance. Such phrases have not been articulated before,” Peskov informed reporters. “Therefore, as part of the ongoing discussions we have been referring to, we naturally anticipate receiving additional clarification.” Trump mentioned on Thursday that discussions between U.S. and Russian officials, including Ukraine, would take place in Munich on Friday. However, Kyiv indicated that it did not anticipate engaging in talks with Russia during the Munich event. In response to Trump’s remarks regarding the presence of Russian officials in Munich, Peskov stated that there were no new developments to report on the peace efforts in Ukraine and establishing diplomatic communications with the U.S. would require some time. Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, declared that Russian officials would not be attending the Munich Security Conference, claiming that Russia had not received an invitation to the event which she criticized as having a biased pro-Ukrainian stance. Nevertheless, it remained uncertain whether Russian officials might still travel to Munich for unofficial meetings with U.S. or other dignitaries. Ukraine and its European allies expressed concerns about potential exclusion from negotiations following the Trump-Putin agreement to convene discussions aiming to halt the ongoing three-year conflict. (Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova. Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
