Commission: Oslo Talks Covered Territory, Security and Postwar Prosperity
The talks in Oslo on October 20 between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US envoy Steve Witkoff and European representatives focused on territorial issues, security and Ukraine's postwar prosperity. This was stated by European Commission chief spokeswoman Paula Pinho, as cited by European Pravda's Brussels correspondent.
"The main topics of yesterday's discussion were territory, security and postwar prosperity," Pinho said. According to her, the Oslo talks continued a meeting held two weeks earlier in Miami. She said it is "extremely important that we sit at the negotiating table, that we have the chance to present our position and that we can take part in achieving a shared goal — ending this terrible war, which has gone on for too long."
Looking for a new format
Pinho said one of the main goals of the Oslo meeting among Ukraine, the US and European partners was to find out whether it is possible to move to a new format of negotiations involving Russia. "On the eve of the announced talks between the American side and President Putin in St Petersburg, the main goal was to understand whether preconditions exist for a possible move to trilateral or even multilateral negotiations at which Ukraine and Russia would be present at one table," she said.
The Commission expects the American delegation to give a briefing after it returns from Russia. "We expect a briefing on the results of the talks after the American delegation returns from Russia," she said.
Who took part
The Oslo talks involved Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, together with Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The EU was represented by Björn Seibert, head of the cabinet of the European Commission president. After the talks, Stubb said they covered security, energy and economic issues in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Zelensky said afterwards that the US had reaffirmed reliable security guarantees, while Axios reported that Kushner pressed Ukraine to halt refinery strikes. Witkoff has since met Putin; see our report on Russia's readiness for talks in November.