Melania Trump says she is in talks with Putin’s staff over return of Ukrainian kids | EUROtoday

Melania Trump has confirmed she stays in direct communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staff, pursuing efforts to facilitate the return of extra Ukrainian kids from Russia.

The announcement comes amid ongoing worldwide concern over the 1000’s of youngsters allegedly kidnapped because the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Speaking to reporters on the White House, she said: “I’m working on it, and we are in the process. I hope we have success very soon.”

Details relating to the character of those discussions weren’t disclosed.

An East Wing spokesman confirmed that these traces of communication have been maintained since Melania Trump penned a letter to Mr Putin, which was hand-delivered by her husband, Donald Trump, final August, particularly addressing the problem of kidnapped Ukrainian kids.

To date, 15 kids have been efficiently returned to Ukraine since her advocacy started, together with seven in December.

Ukraine alleges that Russia has kidnapped at the very least 19,000 of its kids, transporting them to Russia or Russian-occupied territories with out parental consent because the February 2022 invasion.

Russia, nevertheless, denies these claims, asserting its actions had been taken to make sure the kids’s security from the battle.

The revelation of those ongoing talks coincides with separate “productive” discussions held on Wednesday between Russian and Ukrainian officers in US-led negotiations aimed toward resolving the battle, regardless of current intense Russian drone and missile assaults on Ukraine.

Melania Trump, who has largely maintained a low public profile throughout her husband’s second time period, additionally met with two freed Israeli American hostages, Keith and Aviva Siegel, on the White House on the identical day.

Meanwhile, President Trump spoke to NBC News’ Tom Llamas in a separate interview because the pair mentioned the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump insisted he would settle for the outcomes of the election however provided that they had been “honest”, after beforehand accusing Democrats of eager to “cheat”.