Airing the plan on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast, Vance added that a potential deal would ensure Ukraine retains sovereignty, but the country would have to commit to remaining neutral and refraining from joining NATO or similar alliances.
“I think what this looks like is, Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans: 'You guys need to figure out, what does a peaceful settlement look like?' And what it probably looks like is the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine, that becomes like a demilitarized zone," Vance said, cited by Newsweek magazine.
Since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, President Vladimir Putin has gained control of about 20% of Ukraine.
Ukraine has consistently maintained that any peace agreement must reverse the annexation of its territories, including Crimea, which it insists must be returned to Ukrainian control.
Trump has frequently stated that, if re-elected, he would bring a swift end to the conflict by directly engaging with Putin.
While Vance did not specify an exact location for the proposed demilitarized zone, he emphasized it would need to be “heavily fortified” to prevent further Russian invasions.
Russia ‘scared’ of Trump
“Ukraine retains its independent sovereignty, Russia gets the guarantee of neutrality from Ukraine—it doesn't join NATO, it doesn't join some of these allied institutions. That is what the deal is ultimately going to look something like,” Vance said.
“They're scared of him [Trump] in Russia, they're worried about him in Europe because they know he actually means what he says,” he said, adding that Trump will be able to “come to a deal very quickly”.
“The Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans are all saying, we can't fight this war forever. But why the hell are you fighting it for another day if all of them are trying to find a way to solve it?
“The answer is, you're not going to solve the war but you can at least bring the thing to a stop,” Vance said.
While peace talks have been suggested multiple times since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, none have succeeded, Newsweek noted.
Additionally, reports from May, citing Russian sources, suggested that Putin was open to freezing the war at current frontlines. However, these claims have not been independently verified.
