US first lady to host Ukrainian, Russian officials at White House

WASHINGTON: US First Lady Melania Trump will host officials from Moscow and Kyiv at the White House on Thursday (Nov 5), ahead of talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the Ukraine war.

The talks have revived hopes for peace, as Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds through its fifth year, and a recent rapprochement between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has raised concerns the United States could turn its back on Kyiv.

Moscow's adviser for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, and human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova plan to meet Melania Trump on Thursday "provided that all logistical arrangements work out", Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, announced he would also be meeting Melania Trump in Washington.

"I am heading to Washington. Important meetings lie ahead. But while I am on the road, I want to ask you something: If you could convey a single message to US First Lady Melania Trump, what would you say to her?" Lubinets wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

"First Lady Melania Trump will personally bring representatives of Russia and Ukraine, two nations actively at war, together at the White House," her office had previously said in a statement.

The meeting comes after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had "very detailed, hour-and-a-half-long" conversations with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ahead of next week's meeting in Abu Dhabi, the first talks between all three sides since February.

RARE HALT IN FIGHTING

Earlier Wednesday, Zelensky awarded the first lady a national honour for her role in brokering a partial ceasefire that allowed the evacuation of civilians from a Russian-occupied town.

"I hereby decree that the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, be awarded to Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States of America," a decree read on the Ukrainian presidential website.

The text acknowledged her "significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine, and for active human rights and charitable work."

"Mrs Trump independently initiated engagement" to secure "a ceasefire in Oleshky and the surrounding Kherson region," her office said in a statement.

The first lady was expected to speak at 11am (12am Singapore time) Thursday at the White House.  

Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, had announced the localised truce between Ukrainian and Russian forces last month to allow for residents of Oleshky on the southern front to leave after suffering weeks of shortages of food and medicine.

The rare halt in fighting, which was respected by both sides, allowed roads to be demined and residents to depart for either Ukraine or Russia.

"This achievement marks an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady," her office's statement said Tuesday.

The first lady has also been involved in efforts to return Ukrainian children taken to Russia.