Ukraine tells Putin to 'stop wasting the world's time' after peace negotiators in Moscow fail to agree deal
The Ukrainian foreign minister slammed the Kremlin for stalling peace talks
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has accused Vladimir Putin of "wasting the world's time" after high-stakes talks between the US and the Kremlin failed to bring about an end to the Ukraine war.
Listen to this article
After talks ended without an agreement, Mr Sybiha said: "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."
Despite the stern words, Mr Subiha added that the US delegation in Moscow had told colleagues that talks were of "positive significance" for the prospect of peace.
Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff were welcomed to the Russian capital on Tuesday and took part in a marathon five-hour sessions of peace negotiations.
Read More: Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump's top team cancelled as Ukraine peace talks stall
But the President’s team left without a deal, as the Kremlin declared “the two sides were neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.”
However, speaking on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the suggestion Mr Putin personally rejected the 20-point peace plan.
Mr Peskov said it is “wrong” to say Russia has rejected the peace deal and said the talks were only “an exchange of opinions” rather than concrete negotiations.
On Wednesday, a further blow for Trump's hopes to end the war was dealt - as a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy’s aides and the same US delegates was cancelled.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy had taken to Twitter to announce Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, and the chief of Ukraine's general staff, Andrii Hnatov, would hold talks with Mr Trump’s team in the US today.
But the talks were cancelled at short notice.
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.
Before the new round of talks got underway, President Putin gave a startling statement, declaring: "We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now."