Politics
US envoy Witkoff heads to Oslo for Ukraine talks ahead of planned Russia visit
October 20, 2026 at 08:57 AM · Updated 14h ago
12 reports · 8 in Arabic, 4 in English · over 17 hours
US envoy Steve Witkoff has traveled to Oslo for talks with Zelensky and European leaders to prepare a peace proposal he plans to bring to Russia.
- Witkoff is holding talks in Oslo Tuesday with Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and officials from Britain, France, Germany, Poland, the EU and NATO.
- A US official said Witkoff plans to travel to Russia after Oslo to meet President Vladimir Putin and present proposals developed with Ukraine and European partners.
- Trump adviser Jared Kushner will not attend the Oslo meeting in person due to flu, joining instead by video.
- A US official said the discussions cover security guarantees and EU integration for Ukraine, plus a comprehensive proposal for Russia on ending the war.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow and Washington urgently need to resume strategic stability dialogue and expressed hope for a Putin-Witkoff meeting after Oslo.
- The Finnish prime minister also joined the Oslo talks with Zelensky and the European leaders.
- Zelenskyy arrived in Norway ahead of the talks for a trilateral meeting with Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
- The talks will focus on strengthening Ukraine's air defenses and joint production, and Zelenskyy plans to meet Norway's King and parliament.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump is frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.
- Following his Oslo meeting with Witkoff, Zelensky confirmed Ukraine receives US intelligence, including early warning of Russian missile attacks.
- Rubio denied Washington deliberately harms Ukraine and acknowledged US objections to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities.
- Finnish President Alexander Stubb said genuine progress was made on peace proposals during the Oslo talks.












