Talks in Oslo: Witkoff heads to Norway, Kushner joins virtually, Moscow trip to follow

What we know

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Norway this week for the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. Reuters reported this on the evening of 19 October, citing three people familiar with the matter. Two of them said they expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend.

Axios later reported, citing a US official, that the Oslo talks are scheduled for Tuesday, 20 October. They are expected to include Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, representatives of the so-called E4 — the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland — as well as the European Union and NATO.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was expected to take part, has the flu and, according to both outlets, will join virtually.

Two tracks

According to the US official quoted by Axios, American, Ukrainian and European teams worked together over the past week to develop proposals. The Oslo meeting is meant to build on discussions held at Witkoff’s Shell Bay club near Miami.

The talks, the official said, run on two tracks. The first is Ukraine’s future: sovereignty, credible security guarantees, European integration and a post-war economic framework that addresses the country’s financial needs. The second is “a comprehensive proposal to Russia” covering the issues needed to end the war and setting up a new security architecture between Russia and Europe.

“The next step is to test whether that work can form the basis for serious negotiations with Russia,” Axios quoted the official as saying. He also acknowledged that the discussions “remain fluid” and that substantial work remains.

After Oslo, Moscow

After Norway, Witkoff plans to travel to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters and Axios. Besides Ukraine-related issues, he is expected to raise the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American jailed in Russia since 2022. Reuters’ sources stressed that the schedule is tentative and could change. The White House did not immediately comment.

Against a backdrop of Kyiv–Washington tension

The talks come amid rising tension between the US and Ukraine. Kyiv says a political decision in Washington led to a reduction in the speed of SpaceX’s military-grade Starshield satellite system, limits on intelligence sharing and delays to deliveries of Patriot missiles that other countries had paid for. “All of this suggests that some political decision has been made to slow down support for us,” Zelensky said in a video on 19 October. US officials have denied the allegations.

One of Reuters’ sources said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had yet to authorise delivery of the latest package of US weapons bought by NATO allies under the PURL programme, but could not confirm whether it included Patriots.

Trump himself again criticised Zelensky the same day, saying it was maybe time for Ukraine to “get somebody else to negotiate.” Zelensky has repeatedly said he is ready for talks.

The previous round

As Ukrinform recalls, the previous round of consultations between Ukraine, the US and Europe took place in Miami on 9 October. It lasted six hours but was cut short after Trump and Putin announced their deal on Russian diesel fuel.

What to watch

• whether the White House confirms Zelensky’s participation and the format of the Oslo meeting;
• whether even the broad outlines of the joint proposal are made public;
• whether Witkoff’s trip to Moscow goes ahead and what signals he brings back.