Zelensky gives Melania Trump a letter days after she sent personal note to Putin

Washington: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened his one-on-one meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday by thanking the First Lady Melania Trump for sending a personal letter to the Russian President Vladimir Putin pleading for peace on behalf of the children in Ukraine and Russia, who are suffering amid the ongoing war.

Earlier, taking to social media platform X, Zelensky wrote: “I want to thank Melania Trump for her attention to one of the most painful and difficult issues of this war – the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia. We deeply appreciate her compassion and her letter to Putin. This issue lies at the very heart of the humanitarian tragedy of the war – our children, broken families, the pain of separation. At least 20,000 children have been taken away. I asked President Trump to convey a letter of gratitude from Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, to Melania. Melania’s voice matters, and her care adds strength to this cause.”

He also wrote: “We are tirelessly working to bring every child back home. The same applies to our prisoners of war and civilians who have been held in Russia for years – some since 2014 – in very harsh conditions. Thousands of people still need to be freed, and this is part of establishing peace. We will work toward an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war in the “all for all” format, and we are grateful to have strong friends who help.”

Melania did not, however, travel with her husband for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in Anchorage, Alaska. Zelensky told Trump that both he and his wife, Olena Zelenska, were moved by the letter, saying, “many thanks to your wife, first lady of the United States,” and presenting him with a letter to give her in return.

“It’s not to you, (it’s) to your wife,” he cautioned, earning a laugh from the US President and gathered press.

In her Aug 15 letter, Melania wrote, “Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-centre. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.”

Melania, 55, was born and raised in communist Yugoslavia, leaving to work as a model in the early 1990s, just as the country began to destabilise, descending into a decade of inter-ethnic wars and ultimately splitting into multiple successor states, making the First Lady a modern-day citizen of Slovenia.

In her letter, the First Lady urged Putin to protect the “innocence” of the children in the war-torn countries. “As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope,” her letter said.

“As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few. Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all — so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.”

In doing so, she added, “you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself... Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of a pen today. It is time.” (IANS)

Also Read: Volodymyr Zelensky can end war with Russia ‘almost immediately’: Donald Trump

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