Zelensky, US hail 'productive' talks to end Trump feud

Zelensky, US hail 'productive' talks to end Trump feud Estelle.Bronkhorst Wed, 10/21/2026 - 05:59

OSLO - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the United States hailed "very productive" talks in Oslo on Tuesday amid efforts to draw a line under a bitter feud between Kyiv's leader and US President Donald Trump over the war with Russia.

After talks with Trump's envoys in the Norwegian capital, Zelensky thanked Washington for the resumption of US intelligence of looming Russian strikes on civilian targets and energy plants.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is now due to head from Oslo to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in a bid to end Russia's four-year-old war on Ukraine.

The positive tone followed days of tensions between Kyiv and Washington since Trump struck a diesel-supply deal with Putin, and furiously called for Zelensky to be replaced after Ukraine refused to stop hitting Russian oil refineries.

"We are thankful that intelligence works," Zelensky told reporters in Oslo. "I'm speaking about early warning, what is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming."

Flanked by Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb -- a golfing buddy of Trump -- Zelensky said it was "important that we keep the conversation going."

A US official told AFP after the talks that Zelensky held "very productive and constructive discussions" with businessman Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who took part remotely due to the flu.

"Ukraine brought forward new ideas and proposals," the official said.

NTB/AFP | Heiko Junge

But Trump kept up the pressure, saying at the White House that he wanted Zelensky to "make a deal" with Russia, which is escalating strikes on Ukraine as a bitter winter looms.

Trump, who last week called on Zelensky to resign, also criticized Zelensky for not accepting the terms he said he had offered during their infamous televised row in the Oval Office in February 2025.

Relations plunged back into a deep freeze earlier this month after Trump suddenly announced his deal with Russia for diesel, as part of his efforts to lower oil prices sent soaring by his Iran war.

Ukraine reacted with dismay after Trump also waived sanctions against Russia's war machine and appeared to once again pivot to Putin.

The feud spiraled as Zelensky accused Trump of weakness, and then alleged that the United States was deliberately withholding vital intelligence and delaying the delivery of vital interceptor missiles.

• AFP