"Let's see what Putin says." Whitcoff flies to Russia to discuss new peace proposals put forward at the meeting with Zelensky in Oslo
What are these proposals about?
On Wednesday, US President's Special Representative Steve Whitcoff is again heading to Russia to hold talks on ending the war in Ukraine. His visit will take place the day after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, where the Ukrainian president brought some new proposals that Whitcoff is to convey to the Russian authorities, BBC writes.
On Tuesday, Zelensky held talks with Whitcoff in Oslo. The meeting was also attended by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Jared Kushner, another of Trump's special envoys and his son-in-law, joined the summit via video link.
"We have some clear ideas on how to achieve peace. We are united with our European partners in these efforts," Zelensky said at a press conference after the talks in Oslo. "We would like the Americans to bring these ideas to the Russians."
Zelensky added that he is still seeking a tripartite meeting involving the presidents of Ukraine, the USA, and Russia, where, in his opinion, the most difficult issues, including territorial ones, could be discussed. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that Putin can only meet Zelensky in Moscow, but Ukraine rejects such a proposal.
"One of the important ideas is to move towards a potential tripartite summit of leaders to resolve issues that only leaders can resolve. Steve is going to Russia tomorrow. Let's see what Putin says," the Ukrainian president said yesterday. He did not specify what new peace initiatives were discussed in Oslo.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed that proposals "being worked on by European and American colleagues, and which may open the way for a meeting at the leader level" were discussed in Oslo.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump also commented on the possibility of such a tripartite meeting. In response to a journalist's question about whether Zelensky and Putin should personally sign a peace agreement, he said: "I don't know, it seems to me they don't even need to be in the same room, they can do it differently. It's difficult for them to be in the same room. I don't care how it's done."
What exactly are these proposals about?
During the press conference in Oslo, Støre also did not disclose the essence of the new peace proposals but outlined the range of topics they concern.
"Today [yesterday] we discussed issues related to Ukraine's security, a post-war prosperity plan, territories and sanctions, and the broader architecture of European security."
Whitcoff did not participate in the press conference: as its participants explained, this was because only heads of state appeared before journalists.
However, a BBC source in the American administration reported that the US assessed Zelensky's talks with Whitcoff and Kushner as "productive and constructive."
"Ukraine put forward new ideas and proposals, which were discussed in detail. The parties made significant progress in coordinating positions regarding a coordinated approach to negotiations with Russia and advancing the diplomatic process," the American official reported.
Over the past two years, Whitcoff and Kushner have repeatedly traveled to Russia. The last such visit took place in early September, after which both US president's special representatives visited Kyiv for the first time.
Then Trump and Putin called each other and discussed possible ways to end the war.
Despite all this diplomatic activity, no tangible progress towards peace has yet been achieved. Russia continues to insist on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, even from those areas it failed to occupy. Ukraine considers this unacceptable and states that it has managed to liberate some Russian-occupied territories in recent months.
As Steve Rosenberg, BBC's Moscow correspondent, notes, judging by Putin's recent speeches and statements, the Russian leader is not inclined to compromise and clearly wants to continue the war.
Russian officials have repeatedly spoken about their intention to achieve all invasion goals, which Moscow included not only territorial issues but also political concessions from Ukraine, such as changing the status of the Russian language, refusing to join NATO, and the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church linked to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Sharp cooling between the US and Ukraine over diesel fuel
The meeting in Oslo took place against the backdrop of a sharp cooling of relations between Zelensky and Trump. The reason was Washington's decision to strike a deal on supplying Russian diesel fuel to the global market, as well as Trump's refusal to impose new sanctions against Russia, as provided for by the late Senator Lindsey Graham's law.
In turn, Ukraine continued to strike Russian oil refineries, although the US had repeatedly urged it not to do so.
Washington claims that such a pause will help lower global diesel prices, although experts and Ukrainian officials insist that oil and oil products have become more expensive due to the US and Israel's war against Iran.
Kyiv paused attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure for several days but resumed them after Moscow continued to deliberately shell Ukrainian energy facilities.
In the last two weeks, Ukraine reported a number of problems with American military aid, including interruptions in American early warnings about Russian missile strikes, limitations on Starlink satellite internet operations, and delays in supplying missiles for Patriot air defense systems.
Donald Trump also made several sharp statements against Zelensky, including accusing him of unwillingness to end the war and suggesting that Ukraine look for someone else who can negotiate.
The parties very optimistically described Zelensky's talks with Whitcoff and Kushner in Oslo, however, sources of the American publication Axios reported that during them, Kushner continued to insist on stopping Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
As stated in the Axios publication, Kushner again insisted that Kyiv should agree to stop the strikes. "Jared was very direct," the publication writes. According to Axios, Washington hopes that Putin will be more amenable to compromise after the diesel deal with the US.
During the press conference in Oslo, Zelensky commented on the situation with strikes on Russian oil refineries: "We offered different options. We are ready not to strike sensitive parts of the Russian energy sector if Russia stops hitting our sector. Putin said 'no,' but we are looking for a solution."
On Monday, the President of Ukraine said that Kyiv could suspend strikes on Russian oil refineries for 30 days if the US provides it with a sufficient number of anti-missiles for Patriot air defense systems during that time.
"Now it works": what's happening with Starlink and intelligence sharing?
On Tuesday, Zelensky also spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio: according to him, the conversation was "substantive" and "on issues that matter."
They discussed, in particular, interceptor missiles, early warnings about Russian attacks, and the need to restore the operation of Starlink and its military counterpart Starshield.
"Grateful for the readiness to help and a clear position," Zelensky wrote. "Thank you, Marco, for the constructive approach! Thank you to everyone in America who supports fair approaches!" the President of Ukraine added.
Zelensky told journalists in Oslo that he hopes for the restoration of normal satellite internet operation "within 48 hours."
Prior to this, Ukrainian military personnel stated that Starlink terminals installed on mobile devices stop working if their speed exceeds 160 km per hour. This hinders the operation of Ukrainian drones and helicopters, including those intercepting Russian attack drones.
In addition, the President of Ukraine stated that Kyiv is again receiving timely intelligence about the launch of Russian ballistic missiles. Previously, Zelensky said that the US several times failed to provide data on shelling, but American authorities claimed that intelligence sharing was proceeding as usual.
"Speaking of early warnings, they are very important for our people, for our children and adults, civilians, because we hear when ballistic missiles fly," Zelensky said in Oslo. "We are grateful to the American side. Now it works. Everything is excellent."
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