By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/zelenskyy-seeks-to-mend-ties-with-trump-ahead-of-witkoff-putin-meeting Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European officials in Norway in a bid to avoid a further diplomatic rupture with President Trump. Over the past week, Trump has criticized Zelenskyy over Ukraine’s efforts to inflict heavy losses on Russia. The meeting was aimed at easing tensions ahead of Witkoff’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia. Nick Schifrin reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Amna Nawaz: Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European officials in Norway today in a bid to avoid a further diplomatic rupture between President Trump and Ukraine. Geoff Bennett: Over the past week, President Trump has sharply criticized Zelenskyy over Ukraine's efforts to inflict heavy losses on Russia. Today's meeting was aimed at easing tensions ahead of Witkoff's trip to Russia tomorrow for more negotiations with Vladimir Putin.Nick Schifrin starts our coverage. Nick Schifrin: From a red carpet rollout, to a royal greeting, to a bro hug with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy received a warm welcome in this Nordic capital, an attempt to thaw the coldest moment in the U.S.-Ukraine relations in more than a year-and-a-half, with SpaceX restrictions forcing Ukraine to slow down and lose connection to its drones and Ukraine accusing the U.S. of withholding air defense missiles and the intelligence that goes into Ukraine's air alert system.The U.S. today blamed a technical fault. And Zelenskyy said the early warning system is again working. Volodomyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President: Hear when ballistic is coming, so we are thankful to American side. Now it works. It's great. Nick Schifrin: And flanked by Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finland's President Alex Stubb, the three said today's meetings made progress. Jonas Gahr Store, Norwegian Prime Minister: I'm happy that we were able to get together today to straighten out a few things and to agree that what matters now is to look ahead.Alexander Stubb, President of Finland: We have actually made a lot of progress. Under the radar in the past week or so. And now I feel that the process is back on track. Nick Schifrin: And multiple European officials tell "PBS News Hour" the U.S. program to sell weapons to Europe to give to Ukraine is still working, but there aren't enough air defense interceptors to go around, as Secretary Pete Hegseth said today. Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary: We haven't changed our posture in any way toward the Ukrainians. But certainly with things like interceptors, we want to make sure our guys have the most possible as well. Nick Schifrin: But, tomorrow, Witkoff will travel to Russia to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And Ukrainian and other European officials fear that Witkoff and the Trump administration increasingly consider Putin a partner in peace and business, especially as, today, President Trump once again put the pressure on Kiev, not Moscow. President Donald Trump: Russia would like to get it done, but Ukraine has to want to settle this war. Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war. And if he doesn't, I think it's going to be a very bad thing. Look, we have given tremendous amounts to Ukraine. We've got nothing back, other than high diesel. Nick Schifrin: In fact, diesel prices have also spiked because of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. Volodomyr Zelenskyy: So, all of us want peace, Ukraine, Europe, United States, and we will see what will be tomorrow. Of course, we're not losing this war, but we are losing people. And because Russia attacks, we're losing people and time. Nick Schifrin: Including overnight, when Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least four and injured dozens, including children. The light of day didn't stop the terrifying bombardments on a main highway during rush hour.And while the owner of this coffee shop has no doubt the damage was caused by a Russian drone, he doesn't place the blame solely on Putin. Andrii Pakhalovych, Coffee Shop Owner (through interpreter): If Trump wanted to, he would have given us at least those weapons long ago so that we could defend ourselves, so that we could protect our power and heating plants. In a month, we'll have freezing temperatures. What are people supposed to do? Nick Schifrin: All Ukraine can do is prepare for more days like today.For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin. Listen to this Segment By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin is PBS News Hour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent and serves as the host of Compass Points from PBS News. @nickschifrin By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela
Zelenskyy seeks to mend ties with Trump ahead of Witkoff-Putin meeting
In short
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European officials in Norway to ease tensions with President Trump and avoid a further diplomatic rupture. The meeting aimed to address issues such as the U.S. program to sell weapons to Europe and the lack of air defense interceptors for Ukraine. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the improved functionality of the early warning system, while Witkoff and European officials emphasized the need to look ahead. However, the meeting was overshadowed by concerns over the U.S. program to sell weapons to Europe, with some European officials fearing that the program could be used to provide weapons to Russia. The meeting al…
Key points
- Zelenskyy met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European officials in Norway to ease tens…: Zelenskyy met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European officials in Norway to ease tensions with President Trump and avoid a further diplomatic rupture.
- The meeting aimed to address issues such as the U.S. program to sell weapons to Europe an…: The meeting aimed to address issues such as the U.S. program to sell weapons to Europe and the lack of air defense interceptors for Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the improved functionality of the early warning system.: Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the improved functionality of the early warning system.