Ukraine Calls Out Putin: 'Stop Wasting the World’s Time' After US-Russia Talks

Fri Dec 12 2025 18:50:15 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha expresses frustration at the lack of concrete results from recent US-Russia talks, criticizing President Putin for failing to take peace seriously.

In the aftermath of high-stakes peace talks between the US and Russia that failed to yield results, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Vladimir Putin of wasting global time and warned of consequences for continued aggression. The meeting, attended by senior US officials, was described as having 'positive significance' for the peace process, despite little progress evident in reconciling policy differences. As tensions remain high, the future of Ukraine's potential NATO membership continues to be a major contention point.

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 criticized by Russia's leader.

Although Ushakov did not elaborate further, at least two major points of contention remain between Moscow and Kyiv - the fate of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Kyiv and its European partners believe that, even in the event of a peace deal, the most effective way to deter Russia from attacking again in the future would be to grant Ukraine membership of NATO.

The prospect of Ukraine joining NATO was a key question that was tackled in Moscow, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

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. 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.

UK government officials rejected Putin's message as yet more Kremlin claptrap from a president who isn't serious about peace. NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday and Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that it was positive that peace talks were taking place but Ukraine had to be put in the strongest position to keep the fight going.

Meanwhile, EU member states have reached a deal with members of the European Parliament to make Europe fully independent of Russian gas before the end of 2027. The Commission is also proposing to raise €90bn for Ukraine to fund its military and basic services while Russia's war continues.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has welcomed the proposal, which would cover two-thirds of Ukraine's financing needs for the next two years.

Belgium has resisted the plan to use frozen assets held on its territory, over concerns about legal repercussions from Moscow. The European Central Bank (ECB) has also opposed the idea, saying it would not act as a backstop for a reparations loan.