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Senator JD Vance labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin as an ‘adversary,’ rather than an ‘enemy,’ during an interview on NBC.

What Vance said: During the interview, NBC host Kristen Welker asked if Vance viewed Russian President Vladimir Putin as an “ally” or “enemy.” Vance replied, “I think that he’s clearly an adversary. He is a competitor. But I think that we also have to be smart about diplomacy, too.” When pressed on if he’d label Putin as an enemy, Vance said, “Well, we’re not in a war with him, and I don’t want to be in a war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. I think that we should try to pursue avenues of peace.”

He continued, “Just because we don’t like somebody doesn’t mean that we can’t occasionally engage in conversations with them. And 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. And that’s just a necessary part. Doesn’t mean we have to like it, by the way. [That] doesn’t mean we condone the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But I think that sometimes you do have to engage in diplomacy even with, and maybe especially with, your adversaries.”

Putin open to resetting relations with US: Senator Vance’s comments come days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up to the next US president to decide whether to reset relations with Russia. Putin said, “How Russian-American relations will develop after the election will depend on the United States. If they are open, then we will also be open. And if they don’t want it, then fine.”