United States Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that the European Union should take part in any future negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

In response to a journalist's question on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference whether the European block should participate in the negotiations along with the US, Russia, and Ukraine, Vance said: "Sure they should. Of course."

Following a direct phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, fears emerged that the EU, and even Ukraine, could be excluded from Ukraine peace talks, with several European leaders insisting that it would not be acceptable to reach an agreement on the conflict in Europe without Europe.