Melania Trump Urges Lasting Russia-Ukraine Peace at White House Meeting
The first lady hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials, including Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, to mark the Oleshky truce and urged a durable deal.
Russia and Ukraine should turn the short truce around Oleshky into a broader settlement, first lady Melania Trump said Thursday as she received officials from both countries at the White House, according to the New York Post.
She asked for “something more enduring than a temporary cease-fire,” the Post reported, and said the operation in the Russian-occupied city could “build a powerful flame of peace.” She added: “What matters is not the modesty of this beginning, but the determination to turn it into something extraordinary.”
Who came to Washington
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, and his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, attended, the Post said. The two oversaw the evacuation of Oleshky. Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, also took part, according to the Post and Reuters. The Associated Press reported that Dmitriev spoke at the event.
Dmitriev said the Oleshky pause showed what can be achieved when compassion, determination and cooperation come together, and that Putin appreciated President Donald Trump’s peacemaking efforts, Reuters reported.
Reuters, citing two people familiar with his plans, said Dmitriev would also meet U.S. officials during the visit. It described the trip as the first in-person contact between Russian and U.S. officials since Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress.
The six-day Oleshky truce
The limited ceasefire allowed about 800 residents to leave the city and humanitarian aid to be delivered, the Post reported. Reuters described it as a six-day pause that the first lady helped broker.
The meeting comes ahead of planned trilateral talks among U.S., Ukrainian and Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, according to Reuters. The Kremlin has also said preparations are under way for a meeting of Putin, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19, Reuters reported.
Developing: The New York Post described the session as a closed-door meeting, and the outcome of Dmitriev’s planned talks with U.S. officials had not been reported.
Related: Melania Trump to Host Ukraine and Russia Envoys at White House.
Sources: New York Post, Reuters (via Devdiscourse), Reuters (via Yahoo News), Associated Press
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