Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal is 'very close' — SkimNews
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- Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that a Russia-Ukraine settlement was 'very close' after meeting Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, but declined to disclose any details of the conversation.
- Trump said there would be 'a big agreement' involving 'more than Ukraine' and potentially 'all of Europe,' though he has frequently predicted a deal was close before.
- Trump did not meet the visiting Ukrainian delegation on Thursday, even as Ukrainian officials including Servant of the People parliamentary leader David Arakhamia and human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets were present at the White House.
- Melania Trump hosted the diplomatic gathering that brought Russian and Ukrainian representatives together — the first time in American history a first lady has personally brought representatives of two nations at war to the White House for diplomacy — while the president stayed away.
- Oleshky, the besieged, Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region, was the site of the six-day truce Melania Trump helped broker, running October 27 to November 1 and allowing the evacuation of nearly 800 civilians plus delivery of critical food and medical supplies.
- Melania Trump handed Putin's and Zelenskyy's representatives large white envelopes carrying personal letters to each leader; Dmitriev presented a painting by an 11-year-old girl and Zelenskyy sent her the Order of Princess Olga, and she urged both sides to see the truce as 'a spark in a world of darkness.'
Why it matters: The only concrete result so far is humanitarian, not territorial or political: the six-day Oleshky truce moved nearly 800 civilians and delivered food and medicine into a besieged, Russian-occupied city. Trump's promise of a 'big agreement' covering 'all of Europe' remains unmatched by any announced terms, and the Ukrainian delegation left the White House without meeting him.
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