Does Melania Trump speak Russian? Speculation amid FLOTUS’ Putin mention

US First Lady Melania Trump made a major announcement from the White House on Friday, October 10. US President Donald Trump’s wife has revealed that over the last few months, she has been having discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the fate of children separated from their families in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.

US First Lady Melania Trump at the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, October 10.(Bloomberg)

During her rare public appearance at the White House, Melania Trump informed the media that due to these ongoing talks, eight such children have been reunited with their families. Earlier, Donald Trump had delivered a letter written by the First Lady to President Putin when they met in Alaska this year, according to The Daily Beast.

“Since President Putin received my letter last August, he responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly, and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia,” Melania Trump told the media.

“Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communications regarding the welfare of these children,” she added. Melania Trump also claimed that there are plans to have more children caught in such a predicament returned to their families.

Children caught in the conflict

As per a CBS News report, Ukraine claims that Russia has kidnapped close to 20,000 children since the war began in February 2022. However, Melania Trump chose to use the word “separated” rather than abducted for these children in her press briefing.

“For the past three months, both sides have participated in several backchannel meetings and calls, all in good faith,” the US First Lady said, as per CBS News. She added that her representative and President Putin’s team have been working jointly to provide relief to children caught in the crosshairs of the ongoing armed conflict.

Melania Trump and Vladimir Putin’s secret exchange

The US first lady said her discussions with Putin began after she sent him a handwritten letter in August, one that was later mentioned by President Trump on Truth Social and hand-delivered to Putin during the Alaska summit. She also posted the letter on Instagram.

They have maintained an open channel of communication “regarding the welfare of these children,” she added. She said that both the governments have held several back-channel meetings over the past three months to coordinate efforts.

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Melania Trump’s quiet role behind the scenes

Melania Trump spends much of her time in New York. Her spokesman Nicholas Clemens told NBC News that the US first lady’s “impact on her husband’s decision-making process is unparalleled” when it comes to foreign policy.

Cost of the conflict

While the state-run ‘Bring Kids Back’ program of Ukraine has quoted a figure of around 20,000 for children ‘abducted’ by Russia, the Ukraine Conflict Observatory claims the number is higher than 30,000, as per CNN. This body was set up by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab with support from the State Department.

It claims that Ukrainian kids were abducted from around 100 locations and were forcibly relocated or re-educated and, in some cases, given military training. As of now, there is hope that some of these children will be able to get back to their families.

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