Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre hailed “constructive” talks between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, insisting there would be “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” The talks, hosted by Støre in Oslo on Tuesday, brought together Zelenskyy, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Witkoff, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joining remotely. Støre said Witkoff would travel to Saint Petersburg on Wednesday to meet Russian leadership and present peace proposals developed by American, Ukrainian and European officials, potentially paving the way for a meeting at the leaders’ level. The Oslo meeting came amid mounting tensions between Washington and Kyiv, with Trump increasingly criticizing Zelenskyy and pressing Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil facilities, while Russia continues its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. The US president has also eased pressure on Moscow by waiving new sanctions on Russia. “We have always made it clear there will be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Støre told a joint news conference following the talks. His remarks came amid speculation over a possible trilateral summit involving Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine without Kyiv’s participation. Støre described the Oslo meeting as “good and constructive talks necessary after events of the last week,” stressing the importance of continued cooperation between Ukraine, Europe and the United States. “We have agreed that working together is crucial, and we need now to stay very focused, looking forward, and make real efforts to move the diplomatic process in the right direction,” he said. ‘Let’s see what Putin has to say’ The discussions in Oslo covered Ukraine’s security, postwar economic recovery, territorial issues, sanctions and the future of European security, Støre said. Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its European partners had developed ideas for achieving peace and wanted Washington to present them to Moscow. “One of the important ideas is to move to a trilateral, potential trilateral meeting of the leaders to address the issues that only the leaders can do,” he said. “Steve is going to Russia tomorrow, and let’s see what Putin has to say,” he added. ‘We are not losing this war’ Zelenskyy rejected the suggestion that Ukraine was losing the war but acknowledged the mounting human cost of Russia's invasion. “Of course, we are not losing this war, but we are losing people,” he said in response to a question, adding: “And because of Russia attacks, we're losing people and time.” The Ukrainian president said Kyiv remained willing to stop attacking sensitive parts of Russia’s energy sector if Moscow agreed to halt its strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. “Ukraine immediately supported [the] American proposal for an energy ceasefire, but Russia responded by continuing its attacks,” he said. “We are ready not to hit sensitive parts of Russia’s energy sector if Russia stops hitting ours. Putin said no, but we are working to find a solution.” ‘Peace requires patience’ Stubb said the Oslo meeting had produced “genuine progress” on both longer-term peace arrangements and immediate measures to reduce the impact of the war. “We found some elements of peace, which will be taken forward to Saint Petersburg tomorrow,” he said. “We fully understand that there has been a lot of noise in the public space. But on a technical level, we feel that the negotiations are actually advancing quite well,” he added. Stubb said that the participants were broadly aligned on the next steps. “In my experience, peace requires patience, but unfortunately, war does not wait,” he said. “People are dying every and each day. Our job is to do what we can to end it.”
