The European Union made a major mistake by cutting itself off from oil and natural gas from the East, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said today at a press conference in Budapest, The Guardian reports.

According to the U.S. Vice President, he truly believes that it is in the interests of Ukraine, Europe, Hungary, and the United States to “end this war as quickly as possible.”

“The seeds of this conflict were actually sown long before the fighting began, and they were sown when European leaders decided that they were going to dive so deeply into a particular energy economy that they would cut themselves off from oil and natural gas coming from the East. It was a huge mistake then, and it is obviously a huge mistake now. And I find it amusing when I hear people accuse, for example, my president of being pro-Russian,” JD Vance said.

According to him, U.S. President Donald Trump “has done more than anyone in the world” to help Europe with energy supplies, including liquefied natural gas, thereby weakening Russia.

“Because we would like our allies and friends to pursue sensible energy policies so that their consumers can pay less. But also so that, God forbid a conflict arises, they can rely on us rather than another country for the energy they need. So I find it amusing that very often the same people who accuse one leader or another of being pro-Russian are the very people who created an energy-weak economy in Europe,” JD Vance said.

He added that the United States wants to “stop the killing” and “return to trade” with Ukraine and Russia.