First Lady Melania Trump will host representatives from Russia and Ukraine at the White House on Thursday, her latest diplomatic initiative after an unprecedented humanitarian ceasefire she helped broker between the warring sides. The meeting comes as the Trump administration pushes for progress in broader peace negotiations, with the U.S. set to lead renewed trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi next week. The losses suffered by Republicans in the midterm elections dealt a setback to Trump and his foreign policy, injecting yet more uncertainty into the American approach to the conflict.
It appears that this will be the first time both sides will meet face-to-face at the White House. It is unclear what exactly the gathering was designed to achieve and whether the president or any of his envoys would attend. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova, who coordinated the humanitarian ceasefire on the Russian side, were expected to represent Russia at the gathering, according to the Kremlin. Ukraine has not officially confirmed who will attend the meeting from its side, but the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ruling faction in parliament, David Arakhamia, will be part of the country’s delegation, his office told NBC News, signaling that attendees would be high-level. The gathering comes as President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Kyiv and agreed deals with the Kremlin in a bid to break a monthslong deadlock in negotiations to settle the war.
Those efforts were boosted by the humanitarian truce, which started Oct. 27 and lasted six days, allowing for the evacuation of hundreds of people from Oleshky. The town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region was home to some 2,000 remaining residents on the brink of starvation. Both sides held fire throughout the truce, making it the largest de-escalation effort since Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022.
Pope Leo XIV and some officials in Europe also lobbied heavily for the ceasefire in Oleshky. On Wednesday, Ukraine bestowed a state award on Melania Trump for “significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine.” The Order of Princess Olga, 1st class is an honor for women who have made an outstanding contribution to the country. Ukraine has been reeling from the worst collapse in relations with Washington since the start of the war.
President Trump signed a deal to buy Russian diesel and waived new sanctions on Moscow last month, while Kyiv complained of gaps in U.S. intelligence sharing and the slowdown of Elon Musk’s Starlink service, crucial for Ukraine’s military and air defense. Ukraine has since said both intelligence sharing and Starlink service have been restored, and that it was looking forward to resuming trilateral talks with the U.S. and Russia next week. Kremlin said it “sincerely hoped” that Trump would continue his “peace-building efforts” after the midterm elections.
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