Witkoff heads to Oslo for talks with Zelensky and plans to meet with Putin - media
US President Donald Trump's special representative Stephen Witkoff is set to hold talks in Oslo on Tuesday, October 20, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. After that, the American diplomat plans to travel to Russia for a possible meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Axios reports this, citing a representative of the US administration.
The main goal of the meeting in Norway will be to prepare joint peace proposals from the US, Ukraine, and European partners, which Washington hopes to subsequently present to Moscow.
Expected participants in the talks include Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, representatives of the E4 format countries - the UK, France, Germany, and Poland - as well as officials from the European Union and NATO.
Trump adviser Jared Kushner, who is also involved in developing peace proposals, will not be able to personally arrive in Oslo due to flu. According to an American official, he will join the discussions remotely.
After the talks in Norway, Witkoff intends to visit Russia. He hopes to meet with Putin and present the proposals previously agreed upon with the Ukrainian and European sides. There is no final confirmation of this meeting yet.
According to the Axios source, over the past week, representatives of the US, Ukraine, and Europe have been working together on the proposals. The negotiation process covers two main areas.
The first concerns Ukraine's future - security guarantees, European integration, and the creation of a post-war economic model. In particular, mechanisms for financing the country's needs, attracting long-term investments, and ensuring economic recovery are being discussed.
The second area involves preparing a comprehensive proposal to Russia on ending the war. It should cover conditions for lasting peace, a future security system between Russia and Europe, as well as opportunities for economic cooperation after the end of hostilities.
The American official noted that Trump has ordered to intensify the preparation of peace proposals together with Ukraine and European partners. The next step will be to find out whether these proposals can become the basis for substantive talks with Moscow.
At the same time, Washington acknowledges that the negotiation process remains incomplete, and further work is needed to agree on final arrangements.
Previous talks and tensions
Back on October 19, Reuters reported, citing three informed sources, about preparations for Witkoff's trip to Norway for a new round of talks on ending the war. At the time, sources emphasized that the schedule of meetings remained preliminary and could change.
The current talks are set to continue diplomatic consultations that took place on October 9-10 in Miami. During the previous round, representatives from Ukraine, the US, and European countries discussed possible ceasefire conditions, security guarantees, and prospects for post-war recovery of the Ukrainian economy.
The new stage of diplomatic contacts is being prepared against the backdrop of differences between Washington and Kyiv. In particular, tensions arose from American agreements with Russia on diesel fuel and the Trump administration's demands to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
As Axios reported on October 18, Zelensky held an approximately 40-minute phone conversation with Witkoff and Kushner. It was the first contact between the Ukrainian president and senior American negotiators since the deterioration of relations between the countries.
The parties discussed the resumption of the peace process and the possibility of a personal meeting in the coming days. The planned talks in Oslo are to be the next stage of these consultations.
However, no final agreements on ending the war or Russia's acceptance of a new peace plan have been reported yet.
