OSLO — Steve Witkoff will fly to St. Petersburg on Wednesday to meet Russia’s leadership and pass on the proposals worked out in Oslo on Tuesday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
Støre announced the trip at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. His opening remarks were published as delivered by the Office of the Prime Minister, Norway.
“Steve Witkoff will fly tomorrow to St. Petersburg where he will be meeting with Russian leadership”
He said Witkoff would exchange ideas from the Oslo meeting and the proposals worked on by European and American colleagues, possibly paving the way for a meeting at leaders’ level.
He called Tuesday’s talks “good and constructive,” and necessary after the events of the past week. The leaders went over Ukraine’s security, a prosperity plan for after the war, territory and sanctions, plus questions tied to the European security order, he said.
Witkoff sat in on the Oslo meeting in person. Jared Kushner, the other U.S. envoy, joined by video from the United States.
Zelenskyy told reporters he had been given assurances of “strong” security guarantees, and that Witkoff will share them in a “document” with Russian negotiators on Wednesday, the New York Post reported. The talks in Oslo centered on points in a proposal to be presented to Russia the next day, laying out a framework for peace, security guarantees and postwar recovery plans, according to U.S. officials and leaders who took part.
In Washington, President Donald Trump told reporters Ukraine has to want to settle the war, Reuters reported. Trump suggested Moscow has the upper hand because Russia “just keep grinding forward.”
Støre said national security advisers from the European Union, NATO, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy were to join the leaders at dinner after the press conference.
Støre said the leaders had a basis to work on and had made good steps together, while calling the process ongoing work in progress.
Also Read: Norway Confirms U.S. Envoys Will Join Ukraine Talks in Oslo
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