Witkoff heads to Oslo for Ukraine talks with Zelensky and European officials, then plans to meet Putin in Russia

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling to Oslo for talks on Tuesday 20 October with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, and afterwards plans to go to Russia, where he hopes to meet President Vladimir Putin, a US official told Axios. Reuters first reported the plans on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter, and said the schedule was tentative, the Kyiv Independent reported.

According to the US official, the Oslo meeting is expected to include Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, representatives of the UK, France, Germany and Poland, and EU and NATO officials. Trump adviser Jared Kushner has the flu and will take part virtually, the official said. In Russia, Mr Witkoff would present ideas “developed in close consultation with Ukraine and European partners”, Axios reported, and the trip is also expected to include efforts to secure the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American the US says is wrongfully detained in Russia.

“President Trump has directed an intensive process to develop a comprehensive peace proposal with Ukraine and Europe, and the next step is to test whether that work can form the basis for serious negotiations with Russia,” the official told Axios, adding that “substantial work remains”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow “highly” valued US mediation efforts and that a final settlement was impossible without the participation of “someone from Kiev who is willing to take responsibility”, TASS reported. The Kremlin had not confirmed a date for a visit as of 7:11am GMT.

For Mr Zelensky’s comments on the planned Norway talks, see our earlier report; for President Donald Trump’s latest remarks on Ukraine, see this report.