US officials plan to travel to Norway, Russia for Ukraine talks, sources say
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(From right) Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, after a joint news conference in Kyiv on Sept 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- US envoy Steve Witkoff is due to travel to Norway for Ukraine peace talks, with Zelensky expected to join and Jared Kushner taking part virtually because he is sick.
- Witkoff is also set to meet Vladimir Putin in Russia, with talks covering Ukraine and the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, jailed in 2022.
- The talks come as tensions rise between Washington and Kyiv over Starshield, intelligence sharing and delayed Patriot missiles, while US officials deny Ukraine’s claims.
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NEW YORK/WASHINGTON/LONDON – US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Norway this week for the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Two of the people said they expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend the meetings.
Another person familiar with the matter said Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was expected to take part in the talks, was sick and would attend virtually.
The Oslo discussions are expected to include Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, representatives of the E4 – made up of Britain, France, Germany, and Poland – the European Union, and NATO.
Witkoff is also set to travel to Russia to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, two of the people familiar with the matter said.
The Russian conversations are going to focus on a range of topics related to Ukraine as well as the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard, who was jailed in Russia in 2022.
The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the schedule was tentative and could change.
Earlier on Oct 19, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and US negotiators could meet in Norway in the coming days.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The meetings come amid increased tensions between Washington and Kyiv.
Ukraine alleges that the US administration ordered a reduction in the speed of its Starshield military-grade satellite system, owned by SpaceX, and that the US had limited intelligence sharing and delayed delivery of Patriot air defence missiles for which other countries had paid.
“All of this suggests that some political decision has been made to slow down support for us,” Zelensky said in a video posted on Oct 19 on Telegram.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. US officials have denied Ukraine’s allegations.
One of the people familiar with the matter said that US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth had yet to authorise delivery of the latest package of US weaponry purchased by NATO allies under a programme known as PURL, but could not confirm that it included Patriots.
Trump has accused Zelensky of refusing to hold peace talks with Russia and in his latest broadside said on Oct 19 that maybe it was time that the Ukrainian leader :get somebody else to negotiate”.
Zelenskiy has consistently said he is ready for talks.
Ukraine uses Starshield for battlefield communications and drone operations.
The US Defence Department holds the Starshield contract with SpaceX but allows Ukraine to use the system.
Ukrainian officials have said the throttling of Starshield led to civilian deaths because the military was unable to intercept Russian strikes.
Reuters reported last week that the order to limit Starshield came from within the White House.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, said on X last week that because Starshield systems were owned and controlled by the US government, any limits on speed or usage were decided by the US military or the President. REUTERS