US envoy Witkoff travels to Russia for Ukraine peace talks

US envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling from Oslo to St. Petersburg to hold talks with the Russian leadership, following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders in Norway. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Witkoff would present proposals developed by European and American colleagues.

A US official described the Oslo talks as constructive and said participants made meaningful progress toward a coordinated approach to engaging Russia. The discussions covered key elements of a comprehensive peace framework, including security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic plan and a broader European security architecture.

“Now it works, it’s great.”

Støre said Witkoff’s visit could prepare a top-level political meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Russia has previously opposed such a meeting or suggested Moscow as the venue, which Kyiv finds unacceptable.

Zelenskiy travelled to Oslo to repair relations with Washington and said Ukraine was again receiving early warnings of Russian missile attacks. He also discussed Patriot missile interceptors and the Starlink satellite system with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.