The Prime Minister's introduction at the press conference after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyj

As delivered (transcribed)

Good afternoon, everybody,

Mr. President, dear Volodymyr, dear friend,

I welcome a friend to Oslo today and Norway welcomes a friendly country – Ukraine. It is the second time you come to us, Mr. President, since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

We have met frequently, we are in close touch, and we really share your struggle. I met you in Kyiv a few weeks ago, and we met in London recently, so we now have very close contact among European allies and partners.

And let me reiterate, on behalf of all of Norway’s political circles, that you impress us with your leadership, endurance and consistent fight for Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty. – And in that sense, you also fight for values that are very important for all of us.

We have just had a couple of hours of continued talks, following-up on the contact that we have regularly, and let me just give you the main points of our discussions:

Firstly, we share your goal – a free, independent and sovereign state of Ukraine. I know that no-one wants peace more than you. No-one wants peace more than the Ukrainian people who are suffering from attacks and fighting and losses and pain.

Your fight and right to self-defence has had our full support from day one, and it is still how we approach this. We work closely together in sectors like energy, in technology and in defence industries. – And we have just stepped up that help significantly.

Secondly, we fully support your ongoing efforts to get a ceasefire and then negotiations for a fair, just and lasting peace. Ukraine should be put in the best position to deal with such an end of this conflict. And Ukraine has to have a place at the tables when these decisions are taken.

We commend your engagement with the United States and president Trump, your communications with him, and with European partners, the French and British leadership among European NATO allies. And we believe that a strong European voice is important when Ukraine’s future is being discussed.

You come from Finland now; Finland and Norway are close partners. The president of Finland and I are working closely together to support you from our perspective in Europe.

And thirdly, the President has updated us on the situation, currently; on what happens, what you need, urgently, short-term, and in the long-term perspective. And let me just say, that the tripling of the Norwegian support to Ukraine, which has been agreed unanimously by the Parliament, is now being immediately translated into support for artillery ammunition, for drone capacity, and also for investment in Ukraine’s own industry.

So, Mr. President, this is a partnership that we take forward every day, and you can count on that support. It is the right of a sovereign country to resist aggression and you have our full support in that fight and, again, you are among friends and I am very happy to see you here. – Thank you, Volodymyr.