Munich, 15 February 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US Vice President JD Vance has stressed the need for a "durable, lasting peace" in Ukraine, as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday.

"We want the war to come to a close, we want the killing to stop," Vance said, while Zelensky told him that Ukraine wants "security guarantees" from Washington before any negotiations with Russia on ending almost three years of war.

Vance, who is representing US President Donald Trump during the high-profile gathering of world leaders and foreign policy experts, said that his administration wants "to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road."

There had been a number of "good conversations" with Ukraine, and more would follow "in the days, weeks and months to come," Vance said.

Zelensky agreed, calling the meeting with Vance "a good conversation."

"Our first meeting, not last, I'm sure," he added.

He said Kiev wanted "very much" to work towards ending Russia's war in Ukraine, but added that "we need real security guarantees."

The meeting between Zelensky and Vance at the MSC came after Trump announced plans to hold peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.

But just like a highly-anticipated speech before the talks, in which the US vice president mainly reprimanded European leaders for being insufficiently democratic, Vance's meeting with the Ukrainian president failed to produce any further insights on how Washington plans to achieve peace in Ukraine.

Zelensky wants Europe involved in peace talks

Following the meeting with Vance, Zelensky took to X to reiterate his call for Europe to be involved in peace talks.

"We must develop a joint strategy with the US and Europe to bring about a just peace and sit all at the negotiation table together," Zelensky wrote on X following talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"I appreciate France’s efforts for our collective security and its commitment to the principle: 'Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine'."

Zelensky also spoke with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, where he stressed the importance of a "unified defense and security strategy" with a clear action plan.

"Europe must be a full participant in peace negotiations and efforts to prevent future wars," he wrote on X.

Kiev ready for genuine talks

Earlier, Zelensky said he was open to negotiations but was expecting extremely difficult peace talks with Moscow.

Speaking at a press conference, he said Ukraine was willing to discuss everything, from peacekeeping troops to relations with NATO, and was open to any way to stop Putin.

Zelensky drew a "red line" on acknowledging Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory, which would never be recognized. This was entrenched in the Ukrainian constitution, and only the Ukrainian people could decide on a change to the borders, he said.

Zelensky also said he was willing to meet Putin for talks but not with other negotiators from Russia - and only after a shared plan was made with Trump.

Trump spoke to Putin on the phone on Wednesday and agreed to immediate negotiations on an end to the war. There is still no concrete information on how and when such talks might take place.

Kiev on fading NATO hopes

Zelensky said NATO membership was the easiest security guarantee for Ukraine, though he also said Washington had never seen Ukraine as a member, after recent US statements that Kiev joining the defence alliance would be "unrealistic."

Speaking at a discussion event, Zelensky said in any case, the Russian army is still far superior in terms of personnel to the Ukrainian and NATO soldiers available in Europe.

"Russia has 220 brigades, real brigades. So they're two times bigger" than Ukrainian forces, while there are about 80 brigades in Europe, he said. "Even together, we are not comparable to the Russian army."

Russia-US meeting in Munich?

Zelensky said he had no knowledge of a possible meeting with Russian representatives in Munich and stressed that there first had to be talks with US and European Union representatives.

While Trump had previously said there might be a high-level meeting at the Munich conference with senior Russian officials, MSC chief Christoph Heusgen also said "we don't know about" any Russian government-backed representatives travelling to Munich.

"We have a number of Russians, but they are opposition politicians," said Heusgen.

Trump on Thursday told reporters that "Russia's going to be there with our people" for "a meeting in Munich tomorrow."

The US president added: "Ukraine is also invited, by the way. Not sure exactly who's going to be there from any country, but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine and from the United States."

Heusgen however said Moscow had not been invited to send representatives.

Photo: EPA