Zelenskyy, Norway’s PM Hold Talks on Strategic Partnership

(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held high-stakes bilateral talks with both Norwegian and Finnish leaders on Sunday on the sidelines of a major European summit, advancing drone cooperation agreements and securing fresh defense commitments as Kyiv braces for another war winter.

Zelenskyy said he met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Yerevan ahead of the 8th European Political Community summit scheduled for May 4, with discussions spanning a strategic partnership framework, drone cooperation, and air defense reinforcement.

"I thanked Norway for all its support for our country, in particular for its contributions to the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) initiative totaling nearly $1 billion," he wrote on US social media platform X.

With Russian ballistic missile strikes showing no sign of abating, Zelenskyy underscored the urgency of sustained financial commitments.

"Russia is not stopping its ballistic missile strikes, so the timely funding of PURL is critically important," he added.

The Ukrainian leader also raised the specter of energy vulnerability as colder months approach, revealing he had briefed Støre on Kyiv's natural gas requirements ahead of the coming winter.

"Ukraine must enter it prepared. I am grateful to Norway and personally to Jonas for the readiness to help," he said.

The two countries had already signed a defense agreement in April, with Zelenskyy previously indicating that a drone initiative targeting Russian Shahed attack drones was in active development.

In a parallel meeting, Zelenskyy extended a similar offer to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, proposing a formal agreement under the "Drone Deal" framework — a bilateral cooperation model encompassing drone production and supply, missile and ammunition transfers, technology exchange, and integration with allied defense architectures. He framed the offer as Kyiv's way of reciprocating the support it has received since the outbreak of conflict with Russia.

"I thanked him for Finland's recent decision to allocate an additional $300 million in defense support for Ukraine. We sincerely appreciate this, and we discussed priority areas of our defense – particularly air defense – that can be strengthened with this package," Zelenskyy said on X.

The flurry of diplomatic activity follows a landmark announcement made Tuesday, when Zelenskyy declared that Ukrainian weapons exports "will become a reality" after key details were approved at the state level — signaling Kyiv's ambition to evolve from arms recipient to defense exporter. He confirmed that "Drone Deals" are already active with partner nations across the Middle East, the Gulf region, Europe, and the Caucasus.

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