Moscow considered a positive Melania meeting with Russians and Ukrainians

A russia’s presidency today saw the meeting held on Thursday in Washington between Russian and Ukrainian representatives and the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump as “very positive”.

“ No doubt it was a very positive meeting. And what is even more important remains the positive spirit and the desire to continue this humanitarian work”, said Dmitri Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin.

Peskov pointed out that Melania Trump and the team of the First Lady of the United States have made considerable efforts to carry out the humanitarian mission in Oleshky — a locality in the Ukrainian region of Kherson occupied by Russian troops — where the population had no access to food and medicine.

During the intervention in Washington, the First Lady acknowledged the efforts of the Presidents of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, to achieve the interim ceasefire that allowed the arrival of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of part of the local population.

Melania Trump said that cooperation between the two Heads of State set a significant precedent for the advancement of peace throughout the region.

The meeting in Washington was attended by Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, and Zelensky, Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, who coordinated the humanitarian mission in Oleshky alongside Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova.

The President of Ukraine has decided to award the First Lady for her role in mediation, assigning her the Order of the Princess First-degree Olga — a distinction from the Ukrainian State granted exclusively to women — which was handed over to her on Thursday by Ukrainian representatives.

The truce, which lasted six days and ended on Sunday night, allowed the withdrawal of residents from this city located on the front line in the Kherson region, with mined access and crossfire of Russian and Ukrainian drones, who left it for months with severe shortages.

It is estimated that 2,000 people remained in Oleshky when the temporary truce came into force on October 27. They were offered the choice to go out to territories controlled by Ukraine or Russia, or stay in the city with refueled food and medical supplies.

The Ukrainian authorities did not say how many residents were taken from Oleshky and restricted details of their route to protect those who remained and safeguard future humanitarian missions. Melania Trump said on social media that the humanitarian convoy could safely withdraw more than 750 people.

This is the longest ceasefire since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on a large scale in February 2022.

Neither Kiev nor Moscow reported any violations of the agreement, unlike other partial ceasefires, including during the Orthodox Passover.

Meanwhile, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, said, when meeting on Thursday with Dmitriev, that “a great deal” will be reached that will cover “more than Ukraine.”.

Trump’s statements took place before being resumed — after a nine-month break — from the negotiations on Ukraine with the mediation of the United States next Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.