Melania Trump has confirmed she remains in direct communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team, pursuing efforts to facilitate the return of more Ukrainian children from Russia.
The announcement comes amid ongoing international concern over the thousands of children allegedly abducted since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, she stated: “I’m working on it, and we are in the process. I hope we have success very soon.”
Details regarding the nature of these discussions were not disclosed.
An East Wing spokesman confirmed that these lines of communication have been maintained since Melania Trump penned a letter to Mr Putin, which was hand-delivered by her husband, Donald Trump, last August, specifically addressing the issue of abducted Ukrainian children.
To date, 15 children have been successfully returned to Ukraine since her advocacy began, including seven in December.
Ukraine alleges that Russia has abducted at least 19,000 of its children, transporting them to Russia or Russian-occupied territories without parental consent since the February 2022 invasion.
Russia, however, denies these claims, asserting its actions were taken to ensure the children’s safety from the conflict.
The revelation of these ongoing talks coincides with separate “productive” discussions held on Wednesday between Russian and Ukrainian officials in US-led negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict, despite recent intense Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
Melania Trump, who has largely maintained a low public profile during her husband’s second term, also met with two freed Israeli American hostages, Keith and Aviva Siegel, at the White House on the same day.
Meanwhile, President Trump spoke to NBC News’ Tom Llamas in a separate interview as the pair discussed the upcoming midterm elections.
Trump insisted he would accept the results of the election but only if they were “honest”, after previously accusing Democrats of wanting to “cheat”.