Zelenskyy and European leaders propose three-way meeting with Trump and Putin after Oslo talks

The hastily convened meeting in Oslo was constructive, “and necessary after the past week,” said the host, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. He appeared with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Finnish President Alexander Stubb at a press conference afterward.

"There has been progress under the radar over the past week. Now we are back on track," Stubb said.

Steve Witkoff did not appear with them. The US envoy is reportedly traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday to present their findings.

Selfies on Karl Johan

The highly sensitive meeting in Oslo was called at short notice and announced the same morning. A few hours later, the Ukrainian president arrived, first visiting King Haakon.

Then came US President Donald Trump’s chosen envoy, Witkoff, who walked up a chilly Karl Johan with his bodyguards, stopping a few times along the way to take selfies with passersby.

The meeting itself took place at the Norwegian government’s representative office in the leafy diplomatic quarter behind the Royal Palace.

Shivering police officers with automatic weapons redirected surprised autumn joggers who had strayed from the castle park into an area filled with police and diplomatic cars.

Another tripartite meeting

After being heavily criticized by Donald Trump, Zelenskyy arrived at the meeting flanked by European representatives. The message from both Ukraine and its allies was that no decisions about Ukraine should be made without Ukrainian involvement.

Zelenskyy is therefore proposing, among other things, a tripartite meeting between himself, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. An issue such as territorial questions - what Russia can keep - should, for example, only be raised at the highest political level, Zelenskyy emphasized.

I want the Americans to bring these ideas to the Russians, a meeting with all three of us. Then we'll see what Putin says about it.

System reportedly working

The signals from the US are mixed, at least publicly. Trump accuses Zelenskyy of wanting to continue the war and wants him replaced. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was reportedly more helpful when Zelenskyy spoke to him earlier on Tuesday about the US defense systems that had recently stopped working as they should.

We are grateful that they are working now, says Zelenskyy.

In the short term, some form of ceasefire should be discussed, the leaders in Oslo emphasized. In the longer term, much remains to be done to ensure that Ukraine will not be attacked again.