Melania Trump to bring Russian and Ukrainian representatives to White House this week

Mark Schiefelbein/AP

First lady Melania Trump will bring representatives from Russia and Ukraine to the White House on Thursday, after announcing a ceasefire in the city of Oleshky last month.

“First Lady Melania Trump will personally bring representatives of Russia and Ukraine, two nations actively at war, together at the White House,” the first lady’s office said on Tuesday, touting the limited ceasefire as an “unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady.”

Trump, who will also deliver remarks on the limited ceasefire, has kept a much lower profile during her husband’s second term. But while she’s eschewed some of the more traditional roles of the job, she’s engaged behind the scenes in more substantive policy work.

Trump announced on October 23 that she had secured a localized ceasefire to facilitate the humane evacuation of elderly residents from Oleshky. The limited ceasefire began on October 27 and concluded on Sunday. Hundreds of people were evacuated from Oleshky and returned to Ukraine, including one man who hadn’t seen his wife for 1,711 days .

The humanitarian situation had become so dire in Oleshky that some residents were forced to eat grass and weeds without access to medicine, clean water or electricity, Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said last month.

Trump’s office said that she worked directly with Ukrainian and Russian leadership as the “exclusive intermediary” through channels she previously established while working to reunite children separated from their families during the war.

“The mission was a success, delivering critical aid to the region and enabling the evacuation of nearly 800 people,” Trump posted on X, adding that she hoped Oleshky “serves as a foundation for lasting peace between both nations.”

The first lady’s office said last month that the circumstances of Oleshky came to her attention during a private discussion at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

CNN previously reported that Pope Leo discussed the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky on a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in October while in the hospital recovering from lung cancer surgery, according to the Vatican. The Kremlin said that Putin “supported” the Vatican’s intention to help alleviate the conditions.

马克·谢费尔贝因/美联社

在上个月宣布奥列什基市停火后，第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普将于周四带领俄罗斯和乌克兰的代表访问白宫。

“第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普将亲自把处于战争状态的俄罗斯和乌克兰的代表召集到白宫会面，”第一夫人办公室周二表示，并称赞此次有限的停火是“美国第一夫人前所未有的外交举措”。

特朗普夫人也将就有限停火发表讲话。在她丈夫的第二个任期内，她一直保持低调。虽然她回避了一些较为传统的职责，但她一直在幕后参与更多实质性的政策工作。

10月23日，特朗普宣布她已促成局部停火，以便从奥列什基人道地撤离老年居民。这项有限的停火于10月27日开始，并于周日结束。数百人从奥列什基撤离并返回乌克兰，其中包括一名1711天未见到妻子的男子。

乌克兰外交部长安德烈·西比哈上个月表示，奥列什基的人道主义局势已经变得非常严峻，一些居民被迫吃草和野草，而且无法获得药品、清洁用水或电力。

特朗普办公室表示，她作为“独家中间人”，通过她之前在战争期间为帮助与家人分离的儿童团聚而建立的渠道，直接与乌克兰和俄罗斯领导人合作。

“此次任务取得了成功，为该地区提供了关键援助，并帮助近 800 人撤离，”特朗普在 X 上发帖说，并补充说，她希望奥列什基“能够成为两国之间持久和平的基础”。

第一夫人办公室上个月表示，她是在纽约举行的第81届联合国大会期间的一次私人会谈中了解到奥列什基的情况的。

据梵蒂冈方面透露，CNN此前报道称，教皇利奥十三世10月初在医院接受肺癌手术康复期间，曾与俄罗斯总统普京通电话，讨论了奥列什基的人道主义危机。克里姆林宫表示，普京“支持”梵蒂冈帮助缓解当地困境的意愿。