International • • • 🌿 Progressive

Donald Trump saluda con la mano levantada junto a Melania Trump a la entrada de la Casa Blanca
Donald y Melania Trump a la entrada de la Casa Blanca · ABC

Melania Trump Announces Russia-Ukraine Summit at White House

Melania Trump announced a Russia-Ukraine summit this Thursday at the White House dedicated to the six-day ceasefire in Oleshki, in Kherson.

--- The context --- The war in Ukraine is unpopular in the United States, especially among Republican bases. Trump had promised during the 2024 campaign to end the war within 24 hours. The announcement came during the midterms, in which both chambers of Congress will be renewed, with a poor outlook for Trump and his Republican allies, who hold majorities in both. --- The facts --- Melania Trump announced on Tuesday a summit between Russia and Ukraine at the White House this week, her latest diplomatic incursion, dedicated to the six-day ceasefire she pushed for Oleshki. Oleshki is a Ukrainian city in the Kherson region, embedded in the front line, whose inhabitants, most of them elderly, were in a desperate situation. The summit will be held this Thursday at the presidential residence, and Melania will give a speech. --- The positions --- Her office described it as an extraordinary moment in U.S. history and as an unprecedented diplomatic initiative for a First Lady. There are no details on each country's representatives. The meeting appears set to celebrate the temporary ceasefire, not to achieve new breakthroughs. Trump said in a television interview that he will stop delivering $4,000 million a year in military aid to Israel. --- What remains unknown --- That decision is linked to the unpopularity of the Iran war, its impact on fuel prices and the relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu. Some Republican sectors consider that Netanyahu pushed Trump into the war. On Monday night, Steve Witkoff announced a round between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi early next week. On Tuesday, Dmitri Peskov confirmed it and detailed that Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation. --- Unanswered questions --- Who will represent Russia and Ukraine at this Thursday's summit at the White House? Will the meeting serve any purpose beyond celebrating the temporary Oleshki ceasefire? What will happen with the possible summit between Russia, China and the U.S. without Ukraine present? --- EPM analysis --- Peskov said that summit without Ukraine or Volodymyr Zelensky is on the table, and Zelensky has criticized it, arguing there will be no advances without his country. Ukraine accused Russia of using the truce to reinforce positions around Oleshki, and a day after it ended a Russian bombing killed 26 people at an aid center. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the summit puts the focus on the people of Oleshki and on the value of a ceasefire, even a temporary one, for mostly elderly inhabitants in a desperate situation. That gesture does not replace a negotiation with Ukraine at the table nor guarantee new advances, as the source itself warns. The test will be whether Thursday's meeting and the Abu Dhabi round protect civilians and prevent a truce from being used to reinforce military positions.
📤 Share on Telegram

¿Te gustó este artículo? Recibe cobertura global en tu correo.

Suscríbete gratis / Subscribe free