In Oslo, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a trilateral meeting with President of Finland Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, as well as a joint meeting with U.S. President’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who joined the conversation online.
A meeting also took place today with the participation of European leaders and national security advisers from the EU, NATO, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Norway, Finland, and all partners for the assistance they provide to our state and our people, as well as for all their joint efforts to ensure the security of Ukraine and Europe.
“It is important that we keep talking at all levels and work together on the decisions needed to end this war. And this morning, I had a good conversation with Marco Rubio – the Secretary of State. I really appreciate his willingness to help and his efforts to find solutions to all the issues we face,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
The discussions covered Starlink, ballistic missile interceptors, and intelligence. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the conversation was substantive and positive. Ukraine is grateful that the early warning system is now working, as it enables us to receive advance warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks.
The Head of State stressed that Ukraine wants peace more than anyone else. But it was Russia that started this war, and it is Russia’s decision alone to continue the killings. The President noted that our country immediately supported the American side’s proposal for an energy ceasefire, but Russia responded by continuing its attacks.
“And we offered different options. We are ready not to hit sensitive parts of Russia’s energy sector if Russia stops hitting ours. Putin said no. But we’re working to find a solution,” the Head of State added.
The meetings included detailed discussions on sanctions against Russia, the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and villages after the war ends, and European security.
“We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace. And we are united with our European partners in this effort, and we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians. One of the important ideas is to move to a potential trilateral meeting of the leaders to address the issues that only the leaders can do,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Security guarantees for Ukraine were also discussed. The American side confirmed that these guarantees must be strong. Tomorrow, Steve Witkoff will travel to Russia, where he will share these ideas with the Russian side and then inform the Ukrainian side of the results of his contacts.
The Prime Minister of Norway stressed that his country supports Ukraine and its legitimate right to defend itself against aggression. Jonas Gahr Støre emphasized the importance of upholding the principle that nothing about Ukraine should be decided without Ukraine.
“We have hosted today, I would say, good and constructive talks, necessary after events of the last week. We have agreed that working together is crucial. We need now to stay very focused looking forward and make real efforts to move the diplomatic process in the right direction,” he noted.
The President of Finland said that the meeting had made progress on two levels: in addressing the overall situation and in considering the broader perspective.
According to Alexander Stubb, the discussions also covered air defense, energy, and a partial ceasefire, particularly as a way to ensure energy and food security.
“In my experience, peace requires patience, but unfortunately, war does not wait. People are dying every and each day. Our job is to do what we can to end it, and I think today was a step in the right direction,” the President of Finland emphasized.
