2 days ago
Melania Trump writes private letter to Putin
Melania Trump has sent a private letter to Vladimir Putin about the plight of abducted Ukrainian children, it has been revealed.
The note was hand-delivered to the Russian leader by her husband, Donald Trump, as the two sat down for peace talks in Alaska on Friday night.
While the specific contents of the letter have not been made public and Mrs Trump was not on the trip, two White House officials told Reuters that she had written a message for Putin.
Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children has been one of the most important issues for Ukraine since the war began.
It is not clear exactly how many children are still missing but a report from the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said nearly 19,500 children had been deported to Russia.
Kyiv has called the abductions a war crime and genocide under a definition by the United Nations.
Moscow said previously it had been 'protecting' children from a war zone.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of war crimes, including abducting Ukrainian children.
Mr Trump revealed earlier this year that his wife had been influential in pushing him to secure peace in Ukraine.
'Wonderful conversation'
'My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant. I say, isn't that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night,' Mr Trump said at the White House last month.
'I go home, I tell the first lady: 'I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation'. She said: 'Really? Another city was just hit'.'
The Slovenian-born first lady, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, has been supportive of Ukraine since Putin launched his invasion in 2022.
Shortly after the war started, she called on her social media followers to donate to the Red Cross and said it was 'heartbreaking and horrific to see innocent people suffering'.
Ukrainians and some US Republicans have praised her for seemingly influencing Mr Trump to push Putin for peace.
'Well, I'm glad that the president has pivoted on Ukraine,' Don Bacon, a Republican Congressman, said in an interview after the president threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia last month.
'I think we owe Melania some thanks here. Even the president said that his wife reminds him every day that Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities every night,' he continued.
The talks between the two leaders in Alaska lasted for nearly three hours, but failed to secure a ceasefire.
'There's no deal until there's a deal,' Mr Trump said.
