US Envoy Witkoff to Join Ukraine Peace Talks in Oslo This Week, Plans to Meet Putin

Steve Witkoff, special envoy of US President Donald Trump, is set to travel this week (October 19–25) to Oslo, the Norwegian capital, for another round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Reuters and Barak Ravid, a journalist for Reuters and Axios, reported this, citing sources. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to take part.

Who will attend

According to Reuters, representatives of Norway, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, the European Union and NATO will also be present in Oslo.

Planned trip to Russia

Sources say that after the Oslo talks Witkoff intends to go to Russia and meet President Vladimir Putin. When the visit will happen is not known. Ravid reported that Witkoff plans to present Putin with ideas for ending the war that were developed jointly with Ukraine and European partners.

The discussions may also cover the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 73-year-old American held in a Russian penal colony. In October 2024, a Russian court sentenced him to six years and 10 months in a medium-security prison on charges of serving as a mercenary.

Earlier steps

Trump's negotiators Witkoff and Jared Kushner met a Ukrainian delegation in Miami on October 9. The same day, Trump spoke with Putin by phone. Afterward the US president said Russia would supply diesel fuel to the US and global markets under a so-called "diesel deal."

The US–Ukraine talks had been scheduled for October 9 and 10 but ended early, after the first day. Witkoff and Kushner were then expected to travel to Moscow, but that visit was postponed.