Melania Trump says 8 Ukrainian children reunited with families after talks with Putin

Nearly two months after Melania Trump wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin and had it hand-delivered by husband and President Donald Trump, the First Lady has announced on Friday, October 10, that eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families.

The kids were reunited with their families after ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, she said.

Back in August, when Donald Trump travelled to Alaska for a Summit with Putin, Melania Trump had wrote a letter to the Russian president.

The First Lady, speaking to reporters at the White House, said that Putin responded to her letter and after that, they had established an “open channel of communication” regarding the welfare of those children.

She said, “President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication about the welfare of these children. For the past few months, both sides have participated in several back channel meetings and calls.”

“We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war,” she said. Also Read | US-Russia nuclear arms control: Trump says Putin’s voluntary limits proposal ‘sounds like a good idea’

Melania Trump also said that her representative was working directly with Putin's team to secure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia's presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who was involved in discussions, said, “Russia continues to cooperate with the United States in various areas, including humanitarian ones. We appreciate Melania Trump's humanitarian leadership.”

The announcement of Melania Trump's communication with President Putin to reunite eight children with their families in Ukraine has come as US President Donald Trump's own efforts to get his Russian counterpart to the negotiating table with the Ukrainian side was unfruitious.

The talks have been unproductive so much so that Donald Trump recently expressed strong disappointment in Vladimir Putin. “I am very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that, and we will be doing something to help people live,” Trump said in an interview on The Scott Jennings Radio Show.

Later, he also pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “get going and make a deal” as he demanded that Europe stops buying Russian oil.

Trump told reporters, “He’s going to have to make a deal; Zelensky is going to have to make a deal, and Europe has to stop buying oil from Russia. Okay? You know, they talk, but they have to stop buying oil from Russia.”

(With agency inputs)