Trump predicts Russia deal covering 'all of Europe' after White House talks
The US president spoke after first lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials, who left with personal letters for Putin and Zelensky.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a "very big" agreement with Russia was close and could cover "all of Europe", after first lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House, the first such meeting there since a six-day truce in the occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he had held an unscheduled meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin's envoy, who was in Washington for the event hosted by his wife. "I can't tell you what I discussed. But I'm just telling you, it's going to be an agreement, it's going to be a big agreement," he said. "It's going to be very big. It's going to involve more than Ukraine, and I could even say it might involve all of Europe. It's going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone's going to be thrilled."
Trump said he had not met the Ukrainian officials attending the White House event. His comments come the week before three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States resume in Abu Dhabi, the first round since February, CNA reported.
Melania Trump, 56, said she was sending the envoys home with personal letters to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "Now we must use the courage we brought to Oleshky to find common ground through a shared concern for the suffering of innocent people," she told reporters. "Together, we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire."
The six-day truce she brokered allowed civilians to leave Oleshky, a Russian-occupied southern town that CNA described as starvation-hit. Zelensky awarded the first lady a Ukrainian national honour for her role, and a Ukrainian official presented it to her at the White House.
Dmitriev said he thanked her on Putin's behalf for her "distinguished humanitarian role". The meeting also brought together Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova, who has been sanctioned by Britain, and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets, who CNA said formed an unlikely bond during the Oleshky ceasefire.
Melania Trump announced in October 2025 that she had opened a secret channel of communication with Putin aimed at reuniting children separated by the war.
In Kyiv, Zelensky said he had held a "very detailed, hour-and-a-half-long" conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner before the Abu Dhabi talks. Kushner said he met Ukrainian, NATO and European officials in Brussels to discuss "security guarantees for Ukraine and a broader European security architecture".
CNA reported that Trump's remarks will feed Ukrainian and European fears that he is turning toward the Kremlin for a larger deal that could shrink the US military presence in Europe and give Moscow more sway. Washington has also reportedly been discussing possible business deals with Russia as part of a settlement.
How the reports differ
CNA and Arab News led with the first lady's role, running the same headline and opening on her hosting of the Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House, with her call for an "enduring" ceasefire quoted high in the copy. Punch and The Hindu led instead with Trump's prediction, Punch describing it as a major Russia deal reaching beyond Ukraine and The Hindu putting "all of Europe" in its headline. Only the CNA account carried the letters to Putin and Zelensky, the Ukrainian honour presented to the first lady, the reunion of the two ombudsmen and the timing of the Abu Dhabi round. CNA also framed the remarks around Ukrainian and European concern at a US pivot toward the Kremlin, a line the other three did not carry.
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