The key facts

  • Steve Witkoff is heading to St. Petersburg — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this.
  • On October 20, talks were held in Oslo between Witkoff, Zelensky, Støre, and Stubb; Stubb declared 'real progress'.
  • Zelensky said Kyiv had discussed with the US security guarantees modeled on NATO's Article Five.

Witkoff Is Heading to St. Petersburg

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is on his way to St. Petersburg. This was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Reuters reports. Rubio also noted that Witkoff's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, held the day before, went 'positively'.

Talks in Oslo

On October 20, talks were held in Oslo involving Witkoff, Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Following the meeting, Stubb emphasized that real progress had been achieved, and Støre said that on October 21 Witkoff would travel to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

Security Guarantees and a Unified Position

Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv had discussed with the US security guarantees similar to NATO's Article Five. It was previously reported that the US, Ukraine, and the EU had agreed on a unified position on ending the conflict.