Lubinets explained why he sat next to a Russian woman at the meeting with Melania Trump – Pidozra

The seating arrangement for the participants was determined by the White House protocol

The Ukrainian delegation did not know that representatives of Russia would attend the meeting with U.S. First Lady Melania Trump at the White House. Their involvement became known only from media reports. This was stated by Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s presidential ombudsperson for human rights, during a press conference at the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, according to Glavkom.

Initially, the Ukrainians received invitations from the American administration, but there was no information about the Russians’ participation. “When we received the invitation from the American side, we did not expect to see the Russian delegation. However, later we learned from the media that the Russian delegation would also be present,” Lubinets said.

The ombudsperson also commented on why he ended up next to Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, during the meeting. According to him, seating arrangements were determined by White House protocol, not by the Ukrainian delegation.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations at the White House

photo: Reuters

Lubinets stressed that such a situation did not surprise him, as he has long been in talks with the Russian side on humanitarian issues. “We have a very productive channel of negotiations with the Russian side on the ‘human dimension,’ and I personally am in talks with Lantratova,” he noted.

According to the Ukrainian ombudsperson, the main thing in such contacts remains concrete results for Ukrainian citizens, despite the fact that representatives of states at the negotiating table are at war with each other.

As a reminder, 5 in November, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump held a meeting at the White House with representatives of Ukraine and Russia dedicated to a humanitarian operation in Olekskivka, Kherson region. The Ukrainian side was represented by Dmytro Lubinets and the head of the parliamentary faction “Servant of the People,” David Arakhamia. From Russia, special representative to the Kremlin head Kirill Dmitriev and the human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova attended.

During the meeting, Melania Trump stated that she personally participated in preparing the humanitarian operation in Olekshkivka and helped reach agreements on a temporary ceasefire. In addition, the First Lady of the United States handed over personal letters to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin through delegation representatives.