President Volodymyr Zelensky said his view of Vladimir Putin is clear: lifting sanctions would make Putin stronger. He said there is nothing personal between him and US President Donald Trump, and that he opposes any lifting of sanctions.
He noted that European allies have given Ukraine a certain number of air-defence missiles, but that this is not enough for Ukraine to defend itself. He said the country now mainly needs two things from its allies: that sanctions on Putin not be lifted, and that Ukraine receive better missiles.
Zelensky described the meeting in Oslo as productive and said he was not convinced that Putin is seeking peace. He called Putin a player who plays with other people's lives and does not want to stop the war. What Ukraine wants from its partners, he said, is that they not give Putin a chance to become stronger and break Ukraine.
He hinted that freezing the current front lines could allow a ceasefire, stop the killing, and open the way to talks. He stressed that any idea of Ukraine handing Russia territory it still controls is doomed to fail, and that Kyiv will never recognise the occupied territories as part of Russia. The land matters because of the people, he said, not because of kilometres, and many people died defending it, Ukraine's independence and the country. Nobody will recognise the temporarily occupied territories as Russian, he added; he believes Russia understands that, and said it would be a pity if someone else did not.
Ukrinform reported that on October 20 Zelensky held talks in Oslo with US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also taking part. On Wednesday, October 21, Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg.