Witkoff to take US and European proposals to St Petersburg after Oslo talks

Talks in Oslo

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Norway with his team on Tuesday, 20 October, for a day of meetings in Oslo. He held a trilateral with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, a bilateral with US envoy Steve Witkoff, and a session bringing all four leaders together. Deutsche Welle reported that Jared Kushner, the US president's son-in-law, joined the meeting remotely. Participants reportedly discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, territorial questions, sanctions and European security after the war. Støre described the outcome as positive and constructive, and linked the need for the talks to the events of the previous week.

Støre told the press conference that the teams had made progress together.

“US and European teams have done substantive work on key issues together with Ukraine”

Støre said Witkoff would fly to St Petersburg on Wednesday, 21 October, to present the proposals drawn up in Oslo to the Russian leadership, and that the trip could help open the way to a meeting between the leaders. Stubb said the day had been good for peace and that Witkoff intended to discuss the Oslo ideas with Russian leaders.

Patriot missiles and a refinery offer

Zelensky told a bipartisan delegation of US senators and representatives, joining by video link, that the Pentagon was delaying the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles that several European countries had already paid for under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (Purl) programme. He said the shipment was waiting for the signature of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Zelensky added that several European countries were ready to hand over Patriot interceptors from their own stocks but were still waiting for US authorisation. He offered a 30-day pause on strikes against Russian oil refineries if the United States helped protect Ukrainian skies with Patriot missiles over the same period, and said he had met no willingness to help even on that basis. The Washington Post, citing people close to the matter, reported that Hegseth had not yet approved the transfer but had not formally rejected the requests. Reports from the same day put the toll from a Russian attack in the Kyiv region at three dead and six injured.

Trump's pressure on Kyiv

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky was not necessary for a deal to end the war, saying the two could reach an agreement in a different way. He repeated his claim of enormous hatred between the two leaders and said Zelensky would need to want a deal because his people would no longer tolerate the war. Trump also said Russia was advancing like a large machine and had already taken a very large piece of land. The New York Times reported that Trump was pressing Zelensky to accept a settlement that includes territorial concessions in the Donbas, with economic benefits for Ukraine in return, and that the terms were largely drawn from Russia's conditions. Earlier in October, Zelensky had criticised a deal struck between the Trump administration and Russia to buy Russian diesel fuel. In Strasbourg, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told the European Parliament that US negotiators had for about a year and a half pushed Ukraine to surrender on Putin's terms, and that EU support was the reason this had not happened.

Intelligence warnings and what comes next

Zelensky said he had spoken by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier on Tuesday and that Ukraine was again receiving early warnings from partners before Russian strikes. Kyiv had earlier complained of missing warnings about ballistic missile launches and of problems with the Starlink satellite internet service. Zelensky said the early warning systems were working again.

“We are thankful that intelligence works now, and I'm speaking about early warning, which is very important for our people.”

Media reports said Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping could hold a meeting that might touch on Ukraine. Zelensky said he did not know what such a trilateral would address, but that Ukrainians must sit at the table if Ukraine was on the agenda. Witkoff's visit to St Petersburg on Wednesday is the next scheduled step in the diplomacy.