After two days of diplomacy in Oslo and St. Petersburg, the question remains: is the war in Ukraine any closer to ending? Norway's Prime Minister described Tuesday's talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, and European representatives as "good and constructive."
Diplomatic Efforts
In Oslo, the idea of a trilateral meeting at the leaders' level was proposed. The hope was that Witkoff's trip to Russia would pave the way for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky, and Trump to agree on an end to the fighting. However, Putin has shown little desire to meet Zelensky unless the meeting takes place in Moscow.
The Kremlin has indicated it may be willing to resume trilateral talks next month in Abu Dhabi, but only at a technical level. In a post on X, Witkoff acknowledged that "there is still important work to do," while asserting that "President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end."
Kremlin's Response
Russia claims it is ready to resume talks with Ukraine and the US to end the war. Despite new optimism, Trump and Zelensky remain at loggerheads. Notably, Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen, was recently freed by Russia as Trump’s envoy met with Putin.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy aide who participated in the St. Petersburg talks, remarked that Witkoff had informed Putin about the discussions in Oslo, which he viewed as presenting "new approaches from the Europeans and Kyiv." However, Ushakov expressed skepticism, stating, "In terms of resolving the Ukraine crisis, there wasn't much there that was useful."
