US President Trump's special envoy Witkoff is traveling to Oslo, Norway, to meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders on Oct 20, according to Axios citing a US official. After the Oslo talks, he plans to go to Russia, hoping to meet with Putin and present ideas formed in close consultation with Ukraine and European partners. Trump's son-in-law Kushner will not be present because he has the flu, and will participate in the Oslo talks online.
Expected participants include Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Store, representatives of Britain, France, Germany and Poland, as well as EU and NATO officials. Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter, first reported the trip on Oct 19, and said the schedule remains tentative and may change. Two of them said the meeting with Putin will cover a range of Ukraine-related issues, as well as the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who has been held in Russia since 2022. The US official said representatives of the US, Ukraine and Europe jointly drafted relevant proposals over the past week; Witkoff and Kushner spoke with Zelensky on Oct 18 to discuss progress and next steps. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.