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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Norwegian capital on Tuesday alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner participating remotely due to illness according to Reuters. Finnish President Alexander Stubb told reporters that the discussions produced genuine progress on both the big picture and short-term elements including elements of peace that Witkoff would carry to St Petersburg during a planned trip to Russia the following day. Zelensky said one proposal involved moving toward a meeting of three leaders but that it would depend on what Russian President Vladimir Putin says a BBC report stated.
The Oslo gathering occurred against a backdrop of sharply deteriorated relations between Zelensky and Trump with the US president having accused his Ukrainian counterpart of not knowing what he was talking about CNN reported. Trump stated it was time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine and claimed in a Truth Social post that Zelensky does not want to end the war and probably never did according to multiple accounts including from Reuters. The US leader also said Russia has been fine on Ukraine adding that Moscow had taken a very large piece of land while grinding forward a Foreign Policy analysis noted.
Tensions escalated earlier this month after Trump waived numerous sanctions on Russia and struck a diesel supply deal with Putin that was intended to ease global fuel prices ahead of US midterm elections a CNN assessment found. Zelensky branded the arrangement a gift to the Russian president and said Ukraine would persist with strikes on Russian oil facilities if Moscow continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure according to NBC News. The Ukrainian leader further complained that the United States had restricted access to the Starshield satellite system used to guide drones and had delayed deliveries of air defence missiles purchased by European allies Reuters reported.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that a consignment of air defence missiles bought by European countries for Ukraine may not yet have been delivered but denied any change in policy according to an NBC News dispatch. Zelensky said he held substantive talks with Rubio in which he insisted that the Starshield system needed to be restored and that ballistic missile interceptors were required to protect lives a Reuters dispatch stated. The Ukrainian president added that early warnings of Russian missile attacks had resumed describing the development as great.
Norwegian officials framed the Oslo meeting as an effort to place diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path the BBC reported. Zelensky hugged Witkoff as the two entered the discussions and later said Ukraine was working for peace while thanking partners for their support according to an RFI summary. The gathering followed Zelensky’s recent appearance at an EU summit where he remarked that it was nice to be among real leaders a contrast to Trump’s description of him as more difficult to deal with than Putin CNN noted.
The current strains mark the lowest point in relations since an explosive White House meeting 18 months ago a CNN analysis concluded. Zelensky has consistently maintained that he remains open to peace negotiations provided Ukraine receives security guarantees according to the same report. Trump for his part has suggested he could meet with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the conflict though he indicated the focus would centre on nuclear weapons rather than Ukraine itself Reuters reported.
