Season 4 starts now with the first of seven new episodes!

Listen here for a rare interview with Rustem Umerov as the Special Envoy of Ukraine’s president recounts the initial days of war, efforts to open dialogue with Russia and the difficulty of negotiating when the conflict is escalating.

“The first shooting started, the first bombs started landing to Ukrainian soil. So from that moment on, I was asked to establish channels of communication,” Umerov says in candid comments about the negotiations. “In three days, we established all the backdoor channels, discussed the agenda and were able to deploy a first mission.”

“When the trouble happens, you have to know your objectives,” he tells host Adam Cooper in the interview recorded on June 22 at the Oslo Forum retreat. “And our objective was to save lives.”

From now on, tune in every Wednesday to come behind closed doors with more exceptional stories and insights from the most prominent voices in peacemaking.

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify and other streaming platforms to get all seven new episodes and catch up with our previous three seasons.

Season 4 of The Mediator’s Studio brings you in-depth interviews with:

We welcome your feedback and suggestions, so please tweet at Adam Cooper @adamtalkspeace.

The Mediator’s Studio is produced by The Oslo Forum – the premier event for the mediation community co-hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

For extra insights from this year’s retreat, read the full Oslo Forum 2022 report capturing more than 120 senior mediators, diplomats and conflict experts assessing the prospects for peace as seismic shifts reshape geopolitics, redraw alliances and challenge international norms.

We hope you enjoy this first episode with Rustem Umerov and the entire new season of The Mediator’s Studio.

The Oslo Forum team