'Time to Make a Deal': Trump Presses Zelenskyy After Oslo Optimism, Complaining the US Has Got 'Nothing Back'
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he wanted his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to 'make a deal' with Russia, as he complained that the United States had received 'nothing back' for its support for Kyiv.
Speaking to the media in the White House, Trump said: 'We want Zelenskyy to make a deal. He can make a deal.' He continued: 'He could have made a deal two years ago when we had our little chat in the Oval Office,' seemingly referencing the pair's heated exchange during a meeting in early 2025. 'He's going to have to want to make a deal, because I don't think his people are going to stand for it any longer,' Trump added.
Trump's comments came shortly after Zelenskyy met a US delegation headed by special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Russia on Wednesday for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also took part in the talks in the Norwegian capital. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, another key envoy, joined via video link, while Zelenskyy was accompanied by Ukraine's intelligence chief Rustem Umerov and influential lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia.
After the meeting, Zelenskyy appeared relatively positive. He said he had recently held a constructive call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and called for a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin. He also said strong security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed in Oslo, as well as energy ceasefire proposals.
Addressing the reported restrictions on US intelligence sharing, Zelenskyy said he was 'thankful' that 'intelligence works now'. '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,' he said. Kyiv had earlier accused Washington of withholding key intelligence — a claim Rubio rejected as 'scandalous'.
In a post on social media later in the evening, Zelenskyy added: 'It was constructive because all of us want peace – Ukraine, Europe, the United States. And we will see what happens tomorrow.' Stubb said 'genuine progress' was made on proposals to achieve peace but gave no details and warned that patience would be needed. Støre stressed that Europe 'needs to be at the table' during any discussions about how to end the war.
Russia's position, meanwhile, remains rigid. Putin is yet to publicly comment, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the Kremlin would listen to what Witkoff would offer, while ruling out 'any political concessions'. Zelenskyy and his European allies said it was now up to Russia to respond to the proposals agreed in Oslo when Witkoff arrives in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy and Trump have endured a volatile relationship since the US president began his second term in January last year, but it has soured further in recent weeks after Trump struck a diesel deal with Putin and criticised the impact of Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy sector on global fuel prices. Trump has even said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president and for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
Earlier this month, talks in Miami between Ukrainian negotiators and envoys Witkoff and Kushner were reportedly ended abruptly when the Ukrainian delegation learned that Trump had announced Moscow would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the US and other markets. Zelenskyy reacted by calling it 'a happy birthday present' for Putin. Last Friday, Trump waived wide-ranging sanctions on Russia just two days before they were due to take effect, another alarming sign for Kyiv.
Amid this diplomatic friction, Russian drone attacks continued on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were killed — four in Kyiv and the capital region, another four in the eastern Donetsk region and two in the central city of Dnipro. Since launching a full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Zelenskyy also said he hoped for a good result on Starlink satellite access and on US-made Patriot interceptor missiles. Rubio, currently visiting India, told reporters it may be true that Patriot interceptors had not yet arrived in Ukraine, but stressed that nothing had been denied to Kyiv intentionally. Despite the Oslo optimism, Trump and Zelenskyy once again appear at loggerheads — and all eyes are now on Putin's response.
