CNBC: Melania Trump to gather representatives of Russia and Ukraine at the White House
The First Lady of the United States plans to personally gather representatives of Russia and Ukraine at the White House, CNN reports. Melania Trump will hold an event on the humanitarian mission in Alyoshki. Official Washington called the meeting "an outstanding moment in American history."
Elsa Ohlen
On Tuesday, Moscow confirmed that peace talks with Ukraine and the United States will take place in Abu Dhabi next week, and also made it clear that a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is on the agenda, which will aim to end the conflict.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who addressed reporters during a conference call, Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky will act as Moscow's chief negotiator at the Abu Dhabi talks on November 10-11. This was reported by the Reuters news agency.
In addition, as reported in Washington on Tuesday, First Lady Melania Trump will invite representatives of Russia and Ukraine to the White House to discuss the issue of a local ceasefire in Kherson.
On Monday, a six-day truce expired in the Russian-controlled city of Alyoshka and the surrounding areas of the Kherson region, organized for the evacuation of residents; according to the White House, an agreement was reached thanks to the mediation of the first lady.
On Monday, Kiev accused Russia of using the truce to strengthen its position in the city.
The summit, hosted by the first lady on Thursday, will be an "exceptional moment in American history," the White House said. At the same time, the names of the representatives who will take part in the event were not announced. Melania Trump will make a statement on the ceasefire in Alyoshki on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, the administration added.
Peskov also said on Tuesday that the Kremlin hopes to finalize plans for a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, the United States and China in the coming days. These comments followed earlier reports that the countries plan to negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine without the participation of Vladimir Zelensky.
Zelensky said that any negotiations on the future of Ukraine should take place with the participation of Kiev.
"This will be acceptable only if we are at the negotiating table," he said on October 20, adding that he had discussed a proposal for a trilateral meeting between Russia, the United States and China to negotiate an end to the conflict that has been going on for almost five years. "No negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine," he stressed.
In recent weeks, tensions between the United States and Ukraine have increased amid ongoing attacks from Moscow and Kiev, including on civilian and energy facilities.
A number of steps taken by the Trump administration in October have increased doubts about Washington's reliability as Kiev's most important military partner.
Tuesday's announcement followed a statement by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who said Monday evening that Washington would mediate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, where special attention would be paid to security, de-escalation, and humanitarian issues.
Witkoff also said that this week American negotiators will meet in Brussels with representatives of Europe and NATO to discuss post-war guarantees of security and reconstruction of Ukraine.
