Zelensky meets Trump envoy Witkoff in Norway as US-Ukraine ties sour

President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo for talks on Oct. 20, amid deteriorating ties between their two countries.

The Kyiv-Washington relations have soured as Ukraine accuses the U.S. of using military assistance and access to technology to pressure it to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb are also taking part in the talks.

While Witkoff is attending the meeting in person, U.S. envoy Jared Kushner was scheduled to join remotely due to an alleged illness, Reuters reported on Oct. 19, citing a source familiar with the matter.

"President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Norway and Finland to organize a meeting as part of the ongoing diplomatic efforts, in a critical time for Ukraine," Store said in a statement.

"Together with President Alexander Stubb, I'm glad to be able to host this meeting in Oslo."

Zelensky said he would hold a separate bilateral meeting with Witkoff, a trilateral meeting with Store and Stubb, and joint talks with all three officials.

Other European officials — reportedly including representatives of the U.K., Germany, France, and Poland — are also expected to join the discussions.

The EU would be represented by Bjoern Seibert, head of the cabinet of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a senior Commission official told the Kyiv Independent. Seibert, regarded as von der Leyen's "right-hand man," previously took part in an earlier round of peace talks on Oct. 9.

Lorenz Meyer-Minnemann, the deputy chief of staff in the Office of the Secretary General at NATO, will also take part in the talks, a NATO official told the Kyiv Independent.

"We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace. We will also discuss strengthening our air defense and joint production," said Zelensky on social media upon his arrival in Norway.

The Kyiv-Washington ties plummeted following the unexpected announcement of a U.S.-Russia diesel deal on Oct. 9.

Since then, Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged sharp public criticism. Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of not wanting to end the war, saying he "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did."

Trump has also refused to condemn the Kremlin over its escalating attacks on Ukraine, including strikes on the country's already vulnerable energy infrastructure.

Zelensky, meanwhile, warned in an interview with NBC News that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake."

His remarks came amid concerns in Kyiv that Washington could be withholding the delivery of Patriot air defense missiles funded by Ukraine's allies and cutting off crucial intelligence about Russian missile attacks.

Witkoff is also reportedly expected to meet Putin in Moscow to discuss the possible release of Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old American citizen who was reportedly serving with a Ukrainian territorial defense unit in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, when Russian forces detained him in 2022.