The Russian foreign ministry accused U.S. Senators of undermining the work of Moscow and Washington on the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families, an effort spearheaded by First Lady Melania Trump.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations advanced a bill from Senator Lindsey Graham that would designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law “if they do not return the almost 20,000 Ukrainian children they kidnapped from occupied areas,” the South Carolina Republican said in a statement hailing the progress of his legislation.
“We regard this legislative initiative as an attempt to undermine the dialogue established between Russia and the United States, including on the issue of the reunification of children who, for various reasons, lost contact with their relatives during the conflict in Ukraine,” said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the foreign ministry in Moscow, state news agency TASS reported.
Zakharova said Melania Trump had confirmed Russia’s readiness to provide information about the Ukrainian children.
Earlier in October, the first lady announced that eight Ukrainian children separated from their families during Russia’s war in Ukraine were reunited with their relatives following months of back-channel discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking from the Grand Foyer of the White House, Melania Trump said she first reached out to Putin in August with a personal letter, hand-delivered by U.S. President Donald Trump during his summit with the Russian leader in Alaska.
She said Putin later responded in writing, and an “open channel of communication” was established to address the welfare of children taken from Ukraine. “We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war,” the first lady said.
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