Talks in America on Ukraine as Putin Threatens the West Again and Reminds It of the Battlefield

A new round of talks between Ukrainians and Americans regarding reaching peace between Kyiv and Moscow begins today, Friday, in the United States, while Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Western countries and reminded them of the progress of his forces on all battlefronts.

The chief Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said that his country's delegation will start a new round of talks today, Friday, with the American team regarding proposals on how to end the war with Russia.

Umerov added that Kyiv's European partners will participate in the talks.

This comes as the European Union is striving hard to help Kyiv avoid an agreement pressured by the United States, which was considered a submission to Moscow, while the Kremlin seeks to exclude Europe from the negotiations.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today, Friday, that the ball is in the court of Ukraine and the West in negotiations aimed at ending the war. He announced that his country is ready "to negotiate and end the conflict by peaceful means."

However, he accused the West of "deception" by continuing to expand the ranks of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), promising that his country will not attack other countries "if you treat us with respect and consider our interests."

This came during the year-end conference that Putin holds annually and is broadcast live on giant screens across Russia.

With the arrival of a new winter, Putin confirmed that Moscow will seize the remaining areas of eastern Ukraine by force if diplomatic efforts fail.

Putin said, "Our forces are advancing along the entire contact line... and the enemy is retreating in all directions." He added, "I am convinced that we will witness more successes before the end of the year."

Putin escalated his tone this week, describing European Union leaders as "pigs" and pledging to control the remaining Ukrainian territories that Russia declared annexed "by military means" if the talks fail.

In his speech today, Friday, Putin warned of "severe" consequences if the European Union proceeds with the proposal to use frozen Russian assets in Europe to finance Ukraine's defense.

He added that proceeding with this plan would be considered a "robbery." He said, "But why can't they proceed with this robbery? Because the consequences could be severe for the thieves."

He said, "We do not consider ourselves responsible for the death of people because we did not start this war," attributing responsibility for the conflict to the Ukrainian authorities.

In the same context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned today, Friday, a European proposal to form a multinational force to oversee any potential peace agreement in Ukraine, considering it a "blatant" threat to Russia.

Lavrov said during a visit to Cairo that "this is not so much about security as it is another... blatant attempt to prepare Ukrainian territory as a platform to threaten the Russian Federation."

Recently, leaders of countries allied with Ukraine, including Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, announced their readiness to deploy a "multinational force" in Ukraine "to help revive Ukrainian forces, ensure the security of Ukrainian airspace, and support safer areas, including through operations inside Ukraine."

Moscow has repeatedly expressed its rejection of the idea of deploying Western forces in Ukraine, warning that it would consider them "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.