Rubio and Zelensky on the phone for 45 minutes.. What is happening between Washington and Kiev?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that he held a 45-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in light of escalating tensions between Washington and Kiev over the exchange of intelligence information. In response to a question about the existing tensions between the two countries, Rubio said: “There is no doubt that they exist, and that is why we made that call today.”

Rubio stressed that military cooperation and intelligence exchange between the United States and Ukraine had not changed, noting that "the President (Donald Trump) made it clear that he did not issue any directives to make such changes." Rubio described allegations that Ukrainians are dying because Washington is withholding information from Kiev as “shameful” and “outrageous.”

Rubio said that President Donald Trump is frustrated by allegations that he is deliberately harming Ukraine and obstructing efforts to end the war. “He's certainly angry and frustrated about the lack of progress in those negotiations,” Rubio said, adding that Trump still wants to reach a negotiated agreement.

On the other hand, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storhe said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US envoy Steve Witkopf in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on Tuesday, in an effort to put diplomacy “on a more constructive path.” Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, will participate in the meeting remotely.

According to the Norwegian government, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will also attend the meeting.