Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Tuesday for talks with top US envoys in a bid to get strained relations with Washington "on a more constructive path", Oslo said. "We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace," Zelensky said in a social media post announcing his arrival in Oslo. Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said earlier that Oslo would host talks between Zelensky, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – the latter taking part remotely – as well as Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Read moreWhy have US-Ukraine relations soured ahead of the midterms? Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since President Donald Trumppartially lifted sanctions to strike a diesel-supply deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin and slammed Zelensky as a warmonger for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Zelensky has accused the United States of deliberately withholding vital intelligence and delaying military aid, saying on Monday that Ukraine received no early warning of powerful Russian missile strikes that targeted energy facilities in the capital region.
Zelensky accuses US of again failing to warn Kyiv of impending attacks To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted focus towards the war with Iran. The Norway talks were due to begin on Tuesday afternoon and continue into the evening, Store told reporters. "The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky on Tuesday said he held "substantive" and "constructive" talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he insisted that the US military satellite system Ukraine uses, Starshield, "needs to be restored" and that ballistic missile interceptors "are needed to protect lives". Zelensky told US senators on Monday that "the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles" already paid for by European countries, and that the shipment was waiting for US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's signature. He said several European countries were ready to transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but were still awaiting US approval.
The US has denied making any changes to intelligence sharing with Ukraine, and Rubio on Tuesday said Washington was not deliberately withholding supplies. "There's nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine," Rubio said while on a trip to India. "It's simply, it's a balance between our obligations to other partners and frankly our own ... requirements for our own facilities as well." Read moreWill Trump really pull the plug?
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