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Away from the big stage, Melania Trump sent a silent message at the Alaska summit: She wrote a letter to the Kremlin boss, Putin.
US President Donald Trump recently openly stated that his wife, Melania, had convinced him to rethink his relationship with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the 47th President revealed that Melania helped him understand that his Russian counterpart had broken promises about trying to make a peace deal with Ukraine.
This was also the date on which the US president gave Putin an ultimatum, threatening tariffs “of close to 100 percent.” Melania also appeared at the Alaska Summit in mid-August, although she was not present in person.
At the meeting in the US, Trump presented the Kremlin chief with a letter from his wife, Melania. It contained a plea to Putin to return tens of thousands of kidnapped Ukrainian children.
"Dear President Putin, every child holds the same peaceful dreams in his heart," the letter published by Fox News reads.
"They dream of love, opportunity and safety from danger. However, in today's world, some children, surrounded by "darkness", must carry with them a "quiet smile. Mr. Putin, only you can restore their melodious laughter," Melania Trump's letter continued.
The cameras were focused on the two presidents at the summit, "but the real soft power move came behind closed doors, by someone who wasn't there. And that was the First Lady," a source close to Trump told the Daily Mail.
President Putin read the letter on the spot. "You could see he was impressed and said that. It was a stroke of diplomatic genius," the source continued. The letter called on the Kremlin chief to consider the suffering of children without mentioning the war in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, in 2023 for the abduction of Ukrainian children. According to the Ukrainian government, at least 20,000 children have been abducted in Russia.
Two years ago, Moscow itself reported that more than 700,000 Ukrainian children had been registered in Russia. They were being re-educated, with the aim of erasing their Ukrainian identity, according to an analysis by the American think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Some had even received recruitment notices.
During Trump's first term, Melania barely appeared in politics. Things are apparently different in his second term.
"Melania is sealing the decisions," commented Toni Holt Kramer, who has known Melania since 2011.
The assassination of the American president was a turning point.
"She wants her husband to go down in history as a peacemaker, a mediator, a man who saved not only America but the world. She's pushing him to sign peace agreements," Kramer told the Daily Mail.
"She's much more involved than people realize."
Is Melania's letter having an impact? Kremlin announces return of Ukrainian children
Ukraine seems grateful for Melania's initiative. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky handed the US First Lady a letter from his wife, Olena.
The letter thanked Melania for her efforts to secure the return of the kidnapped Ukrainian children. Suddenly, the case moved forward. The Kremlin reportedly announced on Thursday (August 21) that it would return three Ukrainian children to their parents.
However, experts doubt that Putin's stance will actually change. It's more likely that the former KGB agent is using his tricks to influence Trump.
The return of the three Ukrainian children could serve as a manipulation or simply a delaying tactic to hinder the US president. However, according to internal reports, Melania continues to exert her influence in the background. D
Where her sympathies lie seems clear: shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the Slovenian-born First Lady wrote on Twitter (now X): "my thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people." /Adapted from Pamphlet by FR.de/
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