Symbolic imageMelania Trump's Oleshky mediation shapes Ukraine diplomacy ahead of Abu Dhabi talks
Zelensky honoured Melania Trump with a state order for the Oleshky truce, and Moscow named its envoys for a meeting she is hosting. The Kremlin hopes Donald Trump keeps mediating after the Republican midterm defeat.
According to FAZ, Kyiv justified the award by her role in the ceasefire in Oleshky, in the Kherson region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, 4 November, that ombudswoman Yana Lantratova and envoy Kirill Dmitriev will represent Russia at her meeting on 5 November, provided visas and logistics work out. Meduza reports that Ukraine sends Davyd Arakhamia and rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. Peskov said the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi will focus on security guarantees and that no Putin-Trump call is planned. He added that Russia hopes Trump continues mediating after Democrats won both chambers of Congress, which he called an internal US matter.
Oleshky truce held
The local truce ran from Tuesday, 27 October to Sunday, 1 November and was respected, Le Monde reports. About 750 of some 2,000 residents were evacuated in 25 buses, a quarter to Russia and three quarters to Ukraine. Both sides called Melania Trump the main mediator, according to Meduza.
Brussels meeting without result
A technical meeting of the European Commission, Germany, France, the UK, the US, Ukraine and the World Bank produced no results on a settlement, a diplomatic source told TASS. The Commission's statement covered reconstruction and put EU aid at 231.5 bln euros.
Other opinions
TASS, citing an anonymous source, calls the Brussels meeting fruitless and speculates that the Commission sought 2027 funding for Kyiv. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, per Politika, that Moscow's course does not depend on US politics.