The Zelensky Oslo talks with US envoys began on Tuesday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in the Norwegian capital for a round of diplomacy with two of Washington's most senior envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Oslo framed the gathering as an effort to pull US-Ukraine relations out of their recent slump and set them, in the government's words, on a more constructive path.

Who is at the table in Oslo

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store announced that the Norwegian capital would host the talks, with one of the Americans joining from a distance.

• •Zelensky attends in person after arriving in Oslo on Tuesday
• •US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner take part, with Kushner joining remotely
• •Finnish President Alexander Stubb also joins the discussions

Store told reporters the session was expected to run long. "The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path," he said, adding that the talks were due to begin on Tuesday afternoon and continue into the evening.

Zelensky's day of contacts

The Ukrainian leader flagged his arrival to supporters online before sitting down with the envoys. "We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace," Zelensky wrote in a social media post announcing that he had reached Oslo.

His schedule on Tuesday also included a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which Zelensky described as substantive and constructive. He used the conversation to press two demands: that Starshield, the US military satellite system Ukraine relies on, "needs to be restored", and that ballistic missile interceptors "are needed to protect lives".

The backdrop of strained ties

The meeting comes at a low point between Kyiv and Washington. Relations soured after US President Donald Trump partially lifted sanctions to strike a diesel-supply deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin, and called Zelensky a "warmonger" over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Zelensky, for his part, has accused the United States of deliberately withholding vital intelligence and delaying military aid, saying on Monday that Ukraine received no early warning of powerful Russian missile strikes on energy facilities in the capital region.

The exchanges have sharpened. "Zelensky doesn't know what he's talking about," Trump said on Monday, adding that he thought it was "time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine".

Trump also said he is ready to meet Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month to discuss denuclearisation, with the Ukraine war possibly on the agenda - a prospect that has fuelled fears in Kyiv of being sidelined. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga warned that such a meeting would "only encourage Putin to continue this war".

What comes next

Store said the Norway talks were due to start on Tuesday afternoon and carry on into the evening. Whether they change the tone between the two capitals, the session is unlikely to be Witkoff's last stop: Axios reported that the envoy would travel on from Oslo to Russia to meet Putin.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that he hoped such a meeting could be arranged in the very near future, "allowing the American negotiators... Mr Witkoff, to brief President Putin on their contacts with both the Ukrainians and the Europeans".