December 3, 2025 • 6 mins
Tom Soufi Burridge speaks with Mendte in the Morning about the latest on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and what the Russians are saying about recent negotiations.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, extremely important talks happening in the Soviet Union between
some envoys from the United States, including Steve Widcoff and
the Secretary of State and others. And by the way,
Jared is also there. But is anything, has anything been accomplished?
Has the bomb moved at all? Let's check in with
(00:20):
Tom Southie Burridge, ABC News Foreign correspondent. He is in
Paris right now, Tom, thanks for talking to us today.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What happened?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
What happened in the talks?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, I mean Loo. According to the Kremlin, the talks
between Wikoff, Kushner and Vladimir Putin and his top advisors
lasted for five hours. The Kremlin said that they discussed
several versions of this US peace plan, which you know,
Donald Trump's top team of being kind of taking to
the Ukrainians, working a little bit with the Europeans, and
now taking to the Russians. I mean, look, the Russians
(00:53):
basically said that they didn't like some elements of what
was in this plan, but they could accept some of it.
In essence, we've got no indication that the Russians willing
to move away from their maximalist demands in these negotiations.
And you know, the Maximus demands are things like the
idea that Ukraine should seed even more territory than the
(01:15):
Russian military have already occupied up until now about a
fifth of the country. And that is something that for
the Europeans and Ukraine, they have a common position would
be tuned out to a capitulation that they're not going
to go there unless there's a major, major payback in
some form or another. But there's no indication that Russia
is offering anything like that. Anyway.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I heard a report that Vladimir Putin said if Europe
once war, were more than willing to have a war.
What was that all about.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, yeah, he did so. I mean actually before the
meeting with with Wikkoff and kush Kushna, he came out
Jarak Kushna, he came out of Vladimir Putin and addressed
reporters from Russian state media and he answered a few
questions and yes, one of his answers basically said, oh,
if Europe wants to go to war with us, and
(02:02):
obviously I live in Europe, there's no indication that Europe
wants a war with Russia. I mean, Europe wants to
defend itself against Russia. And has become wise about Vladimir
Putin's tactics over the last couple of decades, and will
take nothing for granted when it comes to Russia's promises
given its past form. But yes, he said, basically, we're
ready for war now if that eventuality comes. And Vladimir
(02:26):
Putin also he also was asked about recent Ukrainian attacks
using these autonomous explosive boats basically kind of drones on
the water to attack oil tankers which are not officially
registered as Russia, but they're part of this so called
shadow fleet. They're used effectively by Russia to unofficially transport
(02:48):
sanctioned oil around the world and get around US sanctions.
And Vladimir Putin said, if those type of attacks continue,
he's willing to retaliate in a similar way against the
nation's back in Ukraine.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
I e.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
He was kind of threatening implicitly to go after European
commercial vessels if those type of attacks continues. So there
is a threat that this could escalate and actually not
move towards a peace.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Till well, that's exactly the opposite of what we had
hoped for. We've been at this point before, though, haven't we.
We've had this summit that happened in Alaska, and each time,
and it's been several times since then, something happens that
gives the Trump administration and give Americans hope that we
might finally have peace in Ukraine, and it never happens.
(03:34):
And so the question always is, is Putin just playing
the Trump administration and dragging this along, pretending there could
be peace so he could keep the war going. Is
there any answer to that question any way of knowing?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
It's a great question, and it's what I've been asking
myself for weeks, if not months. There's a good case
to suggest that basically, and that is basically that you know,
Vladimir Putin's forces in eastern Ukraine are on the advance
very slowly, though, and at great costs. So it's a
war of attrition. It's also a new type of warfare
(04:11):
that the world hasn't seen before, where you know, there's
very few troops kind of trying to move forward at
any one time because in the sky there is the
buzz of ann unquantifiable, unquantifiable number of drones on both
sides that can attack anything that moves, and so it's
very very difficult warfare. The Russians are making very slow
progress right now. Vladimir Putin wants to take the whole
(04:34):
of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. That is the
part of the territory that in the negotiations he's insisting
that Ukraine give up, which Ukraine I don't think is
willing to do unless the US would be willing to
enter into what the Europeans and the Ukrainians are pushing for,
and they're calling security guarantees, and that is the idea
(04:54):
that if there were to be a peace deal, if
the front line was drawn where it is now, or
even if Russia would be given more territory, that's unlikely
that the Ukrainians could accept that. The Ukrainians need to
know that Russia can't just launch another invasion, the third
invasion in just over a decade, that they need the guarantees.
The main guarantee, which the Europeans are already working on,
(05:15):
is building up the Ukrainian military, better equipping it, you know,
supplying fighter jets in the coming years, more military equipment
at training the Ukrainian troops. But the other element of
the security guarantees is also a reassurance force. The idea
that European troops could be based a small number of
them away from the contact line in Ukraine in the
(05:35):
event of another Russian invasion and what the Europeans are
negotiating with the US on now, but there is no
sign that there is any agreement on that is what
would be the extent of the US involvement. We know
that Donald Trump isn't going to put US boots on
the ground in Ukraine. That's definitely off the table. But
the idea that the Europeans are pushing for is some
kind of assurance from the Trump administration that in the
(05:59):
event of another Russian invasion and in the event of
European troops being caught up in it, how would the
US assist that European force.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Either way, Even if these are serious peace talks going
on right now, it's going to take some time, so
we hope to talk to you again soon. Tom Sufie Burrage,
ABC News Foreign corresponding in Paris. Thanks for your time, Tom,
Thanks Larry
Well, extremely important talks happening in the Soviet Union between
some envoys from the United States, including Steve Widcoff and
the Secretary of State and others. And by the way,
Jared is also there. But is anything, has anything been accomplished?
Has the bomb moved at all? Let's check in with
(00:20):
Tom Southie Burridge, ABC News Foreign correspondent. He is in
Paris right now, Tom, thanks for talking to us today.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What happened?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
What happened in the talks?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, I mean Loo. According to the Kremlin, the talks
between Wikoff, Kushner and Vladimir Putin and his top advisors
lasted for five hours. The Kremlin said that they discussed
several versions of this US peace plan, which you know,
Donald Trump's top team of being kind of taking to
the Ukrainians, working a little bit with the Europeans, and
now taking to the Russians. I mean, look, the Russians
(00:53):
basically said that they didn't like some elements of what
was in this plan, but they could accept some of it.
In essence, we've got no indication that the Russians willing
to move away from their maximalist demands in these negotiations.
And you know, the Maximus demands are things like the
idea that Ukraine should seed even more territory than the
(01:15):
Russian military have already occupied up until now about a
fifth of the country. And that is something that for
the Europeans and Ukraine, they have a common position would
be tuned out to a capitulation that they're not going
to go there unless there's a major, major payback in
some form or another. But there's no indication that Russia
is offering anything like that. Anyway.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I heard a report that Vladimir Putin said if Europe
once war, were more than willing to have a war.
What was that all about.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, yeah, he did so. I mean actually before the
meeting with with Wikkoff and kush Kushna, he came out
Jarak Kushna, he came out of Vladimir Putin and addressed
reporters from Russian state media and he answered a few
questions and yes, one of his answers basically said, oh,
if Europe wants to go to war with us, and
(02:02):
obviously I live in Europe, there's no indication that Europe
wants a war with Russia. I mean, Europe wants to
defend itself against Russia. And has become wise about Vladimir
Putin's tactics over the last couple of decades, and will
take nothing for granted when it comes to Russia's promises
given its past form. But yes, he said, basically, we're
ready for war now if that eventuality comes. And Vladimir
(02:26):
Putin also he also was asked about recent Ukrainian attacks
using these autonomous explosive boats basically kind of drones on
the water to attack oil tankers which are not officially
registered as Russia, but they're part of this so called
shadow fleet. They're used effectively by Russia to unofficially transport
(02:48):
sanctioned oil around the world and get around US sanctions.
And Vladimir Putin said, if those type of attacks continue,
he's willing to retaliate in a similar way against the
nation's back in Ukraine.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
I e.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
He was kind of threatening implicitly to go after European
commercial vessels if those type of attacks continues. So there
is a threat that this could escalate and actually not
move towards a peace.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Till well, that's exactly the opposite of what we had
hoped for. We've been at this point before, though, haven't we.
We've had this summit that happened in Alaska, and each time,
and it's been several times since then, something happens that
gives the Trump administration and give Americans hope that we
might finally have peace in Ukraine, and it never happens.
(03:34):
And so the question always is, is Putin just playing
the Trump administration and dragging this along, pretending there could
be peace so he could keep the war going. Is
there any answer to that question any way of knowing?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
It's a great question, and it's what I've been asking
myself for weeks, if not months. There's a good case
to suggest that basically, and that is basically that you know,
Vladimir Putin's forces in eastern Ukraine are on the advance
very slowly, though, and at great costs. So it's a
war of attrition. It's also a new type of warfare
(04:11):
that the world hasn't seen before, where you know, there's
very few troops kind of trying to move forward at
any one time because in the sky there is the
buzz of ann unquantifiable, unquantifiable number of drones on both
sides that can attack anything that moves, and so it's
very very difficult warfare. The Russians are making very slow
progress right now. Vladimir Putin wants to take the whole
(04:34):
of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. That is the
part of the territory that in the negotiations he's insisting
that Ukraine give up, which Ukraine I don't think is
willing to do unless the US would be willing to
enter into what the Europeans and the Ukrainians are pushing for,
and they're calling security guarantees, and that is the idea
(04:54):
that if there were to be a peace deal, if
the front line was drawn where it is now, or
even if Russia would be given more territory, that's unlikely
that the Ukrainians could accept that. The Ukrainians need to
know that Russia can't just launch another invasion, the third
invasion in just over a decade, that they need the guarantees.
The main guarantee, which the Europeans are already working on,
(05:15):
is building up the Ukrainian military, better equipping it, you know,
supplying fighter jets in the coming years, more military equipment
at training the Ukrainian troops. But the other element of
the security guarantees is also a reassurance force. The idea
that European troops could be based a small number of
them away from the contact line in Ukraine in the
(05:35):
event of another Russian invasion and what the Europeans are
negotiating with the US on now, but there is no
sign that there is any agreement on that is what
would be the extent of the US involvement. We know
that Donald Trump isn't going to put US boots on
the ground in Ukraine. That's definitely off the table. But
the idea that the Europeans are pushing for is some
kind of assurance from the Trump administration that in the
(05:59):
event of another Russian invasion and in the event of
European troops being caught up in it, how would the
US assist that European force.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Either way, Even if these are serious peace talks going
on right now, it's going to take some time, so
we hope to talk to you again soon. Tom Sufie Burrage,
ABC News Foreign corresponding in Paris. Thanks for your time, Tom,
Thanks Larry
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