US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a deal between Russia and Ukraine could be imminent, after meeting Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the White House.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump declined to share what he and Dmitriev discussed. “I think we’re going to be very close to settling Russia-Ukraine,” he said.
Trump predicts a wide-ranging agreement
Trump said any agreement would be substantial and could reach beyond Ukraine. “There’s going to be an agreement. It’s going to be a big agreement, and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine,” he said, adding that the effort could include “all of Europe”.
Also read: Kherson truce ends as evacuations conclude amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict
Trump has often predicted that a deal to end the conflict, described as Europe’s deadliest since World War II, was near. Talks have picked up in recent weeks, although he has repeatedly forecast progress before. He also said he had not met the Ukrainian delegation on Thursday.
Melania Trump hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials
The meeting followed a diplomatic gathering hosted by First Lady Melania Trump. It brought Russian and Ukrainian representatives together to mark, and build on, a six-day truce she helped broker in October in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky. The US president did not attend.
The temporary ceasefire ran from October 27 to November 1. It allowed nearly 800 civilians to be evacuated from the besieged, Russian-occupied city in Ukraine’s Kherson region, and enabled critical food and medical supplies to be delivered.
Senior officials attending included Dmitriev; Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner; David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party in Ukraine’s parliament; and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliamentary human rights commissioner.
White House calls the event a first for a First Lady
The White House described the gathering as “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”. Melania Trump urged both sides to see the Oleshky truce “as a spark in a world of darkness”.
“Together, we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire,” she said. The first lady gave the Russian and Ukrainian representatives large white envelopes containing her personal letters for each leader.
Dmitriev presented her with a painting by an 11-year-old girl. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent her the Order of Princess Olga, a Ukrainian award recognising her role in the ceasefire.
