Ukraine Blasts Putin for Wasting Time Amid Stalled US-Russia Peace Talks

Fri Dec 05 2025 11:37:36 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Ukraine's Foreign Minister criticizes Putin following unsuccessful US-Russia talks, asserting that Russia must cease its violence.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin after failed US-Russia talks aimed at ending the ongoing conflict. He stated that Russia is 'wasting the world's time' and must stop the violence. Despite the lack of outcomes, the US delegation highlighted the discussions' potential for progress. Ongoing tensions over territory and security guarantees remain critical issues, as NATO and EU negotiations with Ukraine continue in the background.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ has accused Vladimir Putin of 'wasting the world's time', a day after high-stakes talks between the US and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine failed to produce tangible results.

'Russia must end the bloodshed it has started. If this doesn't happen and Putin just spits into the world's face once again, there must be consequences,' Sybiha said.

Still, Sybiha added that the US delegation had told his colleagues that the talks had been of 'positive significance for the peace process' and they had invited Ukrainian officials to continue talks in the US in the near future.

President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner spent almost five hours with Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday and the White House said on Wednesday they had briefed Trump after a 'thorough, productive meeting.'

The US-Russia talks followed days of US meetings with Ukrainian and European leaders, after concerns had been expressed that a deal was being hatched that was too slanted towards Russia's demands.

Little concrete headway appears to have been made during the Kremlin talks in reconciling Moscow and Kyiv's positions.

Putin's senior policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said 'no compromise' on ending the war had been found. 'Some of the US proposals look more or less acceptable, though they need to be discussed further', he said, while adding that others had been openly criticised by Russia's leader.

Ushakov implied that the Russian negotiating position had been strengthened thanks to recent successes on the battlefield.

Russian soldiers had 'helped make the assessments of our foreign partners regarding the paths to a peace settlement more appropriate,' he said.

Ahead of the US visit to the Kremlin, Putin was filmed in army fatigues at a Russian command post, being briefed by commanders claiming the conquest of the key strategic city of Pokrovsk, in eastern Ukraine, as well as other nearby settlements.

Fighting in Pokrovsk is continuing and Russian forces do not control the whole city, but Russian officials clearly believe their message of military gains has been heard by the US.

Meanwhile, EU member states have reached a deal to make Europe fully independent of Russian gas before the end of 2027. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed 'the dawn of a new era', under a deal that bans long-term gas pipeline contracts with Russia from September 2027.