Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 6 October 2017Trump Says Russia-Ukraine Deal Is Near After Meeting Putin Envoy Kirill Dmitriev
9 Western Mainstream5 Other2 Asian4 Other source typesPhoto: Shealah Craighead / White House, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Trump said a very big deal could end the Ukraine war and cover all of Europe. He met Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House in an unscheduled meeting.
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A “big agreement”
US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he expects to be “very close to settling Russia-Ukraine” after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House.
Trump said, “I think we’re going to be very close to settling Russia-Ukraine,” while declining to disclose details of his conversation with Dmitriev.
Trump also said, “There’s going to be an agreement. It’s going to be a big agreement,” and added that the effort could include “all of Europe.”
The White House event that brought Russian and Ukrainian representatives together was hosted by First Lady Melania Trump to mark and build on a localized six-day truce she helped broker in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky in October.
The temporary ceasefire ran from October 27 to November 1 and allowed for the evacuation of nearly 800 civilians from the besieged, Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region, as well as the delivery of critical food and medical supplies.
White House diplomacy
Melania Trump hosted representatives from Russia and Ukraine at the White House and presented Putin’s and Zelenskyy’s representatives with large white envelopes to deliver her personal letters to each leader. Melania Trump urged both sides to see the humanitarian truce in Oleshky “as a spark in a world of darkness,” and she said, “Together, we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire.” Dmitriev thanked Melania Trump for her “distinguished humanitarian role” in mediating the ceasefire in Oleshky, and the event included senior officials from both countries such as Yana Lantratova, David Arakhamia, and Dmytro Lubinets.
Trump said he did not meet the Ukrainian delegation on Thursday, while Jared Kushner said the United States, NATO, and European partners held “productive and substantive discussions” on resolving the war in Ukraine. The next diplomatic step was scheduled for Abu Dhabi, where Kyiv and Moscow want to negotiate next week, with the Ukraine Contact Group set to meet on November 17 under UK and Germany.
What comes next
Trump’s comments came after the six-day truce in Oleshky expired on Sunday, and the event at the White House was described as the first time a First Lady personally brought representatives of two nations at war to the White House for diplomacy. The meeting also reunited Russia’s human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova and Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, and Arakhamia urged Melania Trump to initiate further diplomatic initiatives. Trump’s prediction of a deal that could involve “all of Europe” was paired with his refusal to disclose what he discussed with Dmitriev, and he said, “I can’t tell you what I discussed.”
Jared Kushner said the United States, NATO, and European partners held “productive and substantive discussions” on security guarantees for Ukraine and a broader European security architecture, ahead of discussions next week in Abu Dhabi. The sources also tied the timing to US politics, with the Jerusalem Post saying Democrats took majority in Congress starting in January and that the Democratic majority is expected to push for more aid for Ukraine and to question Trump’s decisions to strike a diesel deal with Russia and ease some sanctions on Moscow.