The key facts
- On October 20, talks were held in Oslo between Witkoff, Zelensky, Norwegian PM Støre and Finnish President Stubb
- Zelensky proposed a trilateral meeting at the leaders' level and said peace proposals were ready
- Karasin called Zelensky's words 'juggling' and pointed to the need to hear Witkoff in St. Petersburg
Federation Council's reaction to Zelensky's proposal
Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin, in a comment to Gazeta.Ru, said that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, by proposing a trilateral meeting on Ukraine, is 'juggling' words. 'Zelensky has proven that he is a skilled juggler of everything he knows, hears and would like to hear. One must proceed from this,' Karasin said. In his view, one should wait for explanations from US envoy Steve Witkoff, who arrived in St. Petersburg, about what was discussed and what was agreed in Oslo.
Talks in Oslo and next steps
On October 20, talks were held in Oslo involving Witkoff, Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Stubb emphasized that the meeting made it possible to achieve real progress. Støre said that on October 21 Witkoff would travel to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. On the morning of October 21, Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg.
Zelensky's position
Following the talks, Zelensky proposed moving to trilateral negotiations at the leaders' level. According to him, Ukraine has prepared concrete proposals for achieving peace and wants them to be conveyed to Russia. Earlier, the US stated Trump's aspiration for a new Yalta conference.
