First lady Melania Trump raised the plight of children in a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, when President Donald Trump met with the European leader in Alaska but did not reach a ceasefire deal on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It is time” to protect children and future generations around the globe, she wrote in the letter.
“We must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded,” the first lady wrote. “A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.”
President Donald Trump hand delivered the letter to Putin during their summit talks Aug. 15.
The letter, which was shared with USA TODAY, does not specifically mention Ukraine. Trump and Putin’s hours long meeting ended with a vague statement to the media in which Putin spoke of an “agreement” and Trump declared “no deal” had been reached to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The letter does not mention the tens of thousands of Ukranian children taken from land Russia has claimed in the war to the country or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians.
“In today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them– a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future. Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter,” the letter states.
Moscow has said it moved the children to protect them from a war zone. Many have been put up for adoption.
Ukraine has said the children were taken without consent of their parents or guardians and compared the move to a war crime that meets the United Nations treaty definition of genocide
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Letter from Melania Trump to Putin hand delivered at Alaska summit
