Putin's envoy visited the White House, while false bomb threats disrupted flights in Europe

White House meeting and Trump's statement

On November 5, US President Donald Trump held a closed-door meeting at the White House with Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Reuters, which Kun.uzcites, Trump did not disclose the content of the conversation, but told journalists that an agreement could be reached in the near future: 'It will be a big deal, and it will cover more of Ukraine... It could even cover all of Europe.' At the same time, Trump did not meet with the Ukrainian delegation. Talks between representatives of Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the US, are scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi.

Context of the meeting and parallel talks

The formal occasion for Dmitriev's visit was an event organized by US First Lady Melania Trump dedicated to the announced six-day ceasefire in the city of Alyoshky, which is under Russian control. According to Melania Trump, about 800 people were evacuated from the city in a short period; at the event, she handed over letters addressed to Putin and Zelensky to their representatives. The same day, Trump's envoy Jared Kushner held talks in Brussels with NATO and European partners about security guarantees for Ukraine and the European security system. Kun.uz notes that this was the first personal contact between Russian and American officials after the November 3 midterm elections: the new Congress, which will begin work in January, is expected to seek to increase aid to Ukraine. The Kremlin, according to the outlet, expressed hope that Trump would continue peace efforts despite the Republicans' defeat.

False bomb threats disrupted air travel in Europe

The same day in Europe, about 30 flights were canceled due to false threats about bombs planted aboard passenger aircraft. Some airliners made unscheduled landings, and some were escorted by fighter jets. The most serious situation occurred in France: the pilot of an Aer Lingus aircraft flying from Dublin to Rome refused to cooperate with the authorities, after which the French Prime Minister ordered fighter jets to be dispatched and the airliner to be landed at the military airbase in Évry. Bulgarian military aviation escorted two aircraft until landing; flights were also stopped and checked in Madrid, Warsaw, and Copenhagen. In Italy, two airports received an email claiming that explosive devices had been planted on aircraft from Helsinki and Dublin, set to go off within 60 minutes.