Trump withholds details of Dmitriev talks as he predicts Ukraine deal

Donald Trump said on 5 November that a deal to end the Ukraine war could be close. Speaking at the White House, he gave no terms after talks with Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.

The US president said he could not share what they had discussed in private. He said the deal could reach beyond Ukraine and cover the whole of Europe.

Trump said he had not met the Ukrainian officials who were also at the White House that day. His remarks set out his hopes for a deal, without saying what either side would accept.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said that talks with Russia and Ukraine would take place in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November.

The private meeting followed an event hosted by Melania Trump. The first lady praised a six-day truce and aid mission in Oleshky, a city held by Russia. The truce ended on Sunday, The Moscow Times reported.

She said she had helped plan each stage, checking images taken from the air, roads and access to hospitals.

Ukraine’s human rights envoy Dmytro Lubinets and lawmaker David Arakhamia were at the event. Arakhamia urged her to pursue more aid missions and help ease the conflict.

Dmitriev thanked the first lady and said Putin had given direct orders for the mission. Melania Trump also gave the two sides letters for Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

In Brussels, US, Ukrainian, NATO and European officials have discussed plans for security after the war, the reports said.

Jared Kushner said each state would retain control of its own security and choice of allies. No state could block another’s choices, he said, and NATO would remain central to Europe’s shared defence.

Kushner said Trump had spoken to European leaders about wider security plans to help secure a lasting peace.