Diplomatic talks in Norway and Russia yield limited progress on Ukraine peace
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian and Russian officials in Oslo and St. Petersburg, but Kremlin officials said the discussions offered little useful advance toward ending the war.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European representatives in Oslo, which Norway's prime minister described as "good and constructive." The meeting explored the possibility of a trilateral summit involving President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky and President Donald Trump to negotiate an end to the conflict.
The Kremlin indicated it might resume technical-level trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi next month, but expressed little interest in a direct meeting with Zelensky unless it takes place in Moscow.
"In terms of resolving the Ukraine crisis, there wasn't much there that was useful," said Yuri Ushakov, a foreign-policy aide to President Putin, after attending the St. Petersburg talks.
Witkoff posted on X that important work remains and that President Trump remains committed to ending the war.
Russian MP Evgeny Popov claimed Trump is the only Western leader taking steps for peace, a view contested by observers who note the upcoming possibility of a meeting between Putin, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, a gathering some commentators have dubbed "The New Yalta."