Ukraine war briefing: US envoy Witkoff to meet Putin after ‘constructive’ talks with Zelenskyy in Norway
Talks in Oslo made ‘meaningful progress’ toward engaging Russia, a US official said. What we know on day 1,701 US envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday after what a US official called “constructive” talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway.
The US official said Ukraine brought forward new ideas and proposals to the Oslo talks, which also involved the leaders of Norway and Finland and European and Nato representatives, and that participants made “meaningful progress” toward a coordinated approach to engaging Russia.
The official, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the talks covered “key elements of a comprehensive peace framework”, including security guarantees for Ukraine, a postwar economic plan and a broader European security architecture. Witkoff would aim to “create a pathway toward direct trilateral and broader multilateral negotiations”, the official said. US president Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Ukraine to make a deal to settle the war with Russia.
“Ukraine has to want to settle this war,” Trump told reporters. Zelenskyy travelled to Oslo seeking to repair relations with Washington, which have sunk to new lows. Trump’s recent gestures toward Moscow, including a deal to buy Russian diesel and a waiver of new sanctions, have sparked bipartisan pushback in the US Congress and worry in European capitals. Zelenskyy said he had discussed “Article 5-like” security guarantees, referring...
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The GuardianSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-10-21. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.