Melania Trump Hosts Russian and Ukrainian Officials at the White House
Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House on Thursday, November 5, and urged them to build on a recent local ceasefire and seek a more lasting peace, according to Al Jazeera.
The guests included Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Yana Lantratova, Russia's human rights commissioner. From Ukraine came David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party in the country's parliament, and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's parliamentary human rights commissioner. The White House said the meeting is believed to be the first time in American history that a First Lady has personally brought representatives of two nations at war to the White House for diplomacy.
The ceasefire at the centre of the meeting was a six-day truce covering the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region and the surrounding area. A ceasefire is a temporary halt to fighting. The truce allowed aid deliveries and the evacuation of nearly 800 people, while an estimated 2,000 civilians had been left in the city. The White House said Melania Trump mediated the truce. It expired on the Sunday before the meeting without an extension.
Melania Trump said her role as exclusive intermediary, meaning the sole go-between for the two sides, was set out in written agreements signed by both Russia and Ukraine. She also said she was involved in every stage of the truce planning, including reviewing de-mining plans, which are the arrangements for clearing mines, and evacuation routes.
At the meeting she gave the most senior Russian and Ukrainian officials present letters she had written to Putin and to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian representatives presented her with the Order of Princess Olga, first class, a Ukrainian state honour that Zelenskyy awarded earlier that week. In her remarks, she urged both delegations to choose "humanity over war."
The White House credited Melania Trump with initiating the discussions between Russia and Ukraine on her own. New US-brokered talks between the two countries are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11.
