Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump predicted Thursday an imminent deal with Russia covering Ukraine and “all of Europe,” after his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, hosted officials from the two warring countries at the White House. Trump revealed that he had an unscheduled meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, following his involvement in the event hosted by the US first lady. Trump’s comments will fuel Ukrainian and European fears that he is pivoting towards the Kremlin for a larger deal that could reduce the US military presence on the continent and give Moscow more sway.
They also come the week before three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States are due to resume in Abu Dhabi for the first time since February. While Melania called for an “enduring” Ukraine ceasefire to follow up the brief truce she brokered in a Russian-occupied town, her 80-year-old husband indicated that an unspecified “very big” deal was close.
“I can’t tell you what I discussed. But I’m just telling you, it’s going to be an agreement, it’s going to be a big agreement,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about his talks with Dmitriev. “It’s going to be very big. It’s going to involve more than Ukraine, and I could even say it might involve all of Europe. It’s going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone’s going to be thrilled.” Trump said he had not met with Ukrainian officials who were also at the White House on Thursday.
The US president’s efforts to end the war he promised to stop within 24 hours of taking office have ebbed and flowed, but his wife’s quiet diplomatic efforts have stepped up. The unprecedented meeting at the White House between Russian and Ukrainian officials hoped to build on a localized six-day truce in the starvation-hit Ukrainian city of Oleshky.
“Now we must use the courage we brought to Oleshky to find common ground through a shared concern for the suffering of innocent people,” the first lady told reporters. “Together, we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire.” The Slovenian-born former model, 56, said she was sending the envoys back with personal letters to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president awarded Melania Trump a national honor for her role in brokering the Oleshky ceasefire, which a Ukrainian official personally presented to her at the White House.
Dmitriev said he thanked the US first lady on Putin’s behalf for her “distinguished humanitarian role.” The White House meeting also reunited Russia’s human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova — who has been sanctioned by Britain — and her counterpart from Kyiv, Dmytro Lubinets, who formed an unlikely bond during the Oleshky ceasefire.
The US first lady stunned the world when she announced in October 2025 that she had established a secret channel of communication with Putin in a bid to reunite war-separated children. She has since played a growing but still behind-the-scenes diplomatic role in the Ukraine conflict — even as her husband campaigns openly to win the Nobel Peace Prize despite his own failed efforts to end the war.
In Kyiv, Zelensky said he had a “very detailed, hour-and-a-half-long” conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks. The talks have revived hopes for ending the grinding war, although a recent rapprochement between Donald Trump and Putin has raised concerns that the United States could turn its back on Kyiv. Kushner said he met Ukrainian, NATO, and European officials in Brussels to discuss “security guarantees for Ukraine and a broader European security architecture.” Washington has also reportedly been discussing possible business deals with Russia as part of a general Ukraine deal.
© 2024 AFP
