This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Kirill Dmitriev, a senior Kremlin adviser and head of a major state-backed investment fund, was expected to visit Washington this week for talks with US officials on Ukraine and bilateral relations, the Kremlin said.
Dmitriev’s reported visit comes as Washington and Moscow move to repair relations following years of spiraling tensions that predate Russia’s February 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has assumed a more prominent role in negotiations with US officials in recent months. He recently met with White House envoy Steve Witkoff when the latter traveled to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin and others.
Speaking to reporters on April 2, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed reports by Reuters and CNN that Dmitriev’s visit might occur this week.
“Yes, I confirm. This visit may be possible. We are continuing to talk to the Americans. I will not give more concrete (details),” Peskov said.
In a post to X, responding to another report about the visit, Dmitriev said “maybe.
CNN and Reuters, quoting unnamed officials, said Dmitriev would meet with Witkoff. Reuters said the meeting would reportedly take place on April 2.
CNN said a special visa had to be granted to Dmitriev because he is under US sanctions.
Earlier on April 2, Putin signed an order allowing a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs to sell stocks of major Russian companies that had been frozen since Russia invaded, The Moscow Times reported. Ukraine in February 2022. The US investment bank had to sell the stock to companies preselected by the Kremlin.
Both countries have been touting steps to mend relations, which began to deteriorate in 2012 during the presidency of Barack Obama and then markedly worsened following the Ukraine invasion.
Trump has made ending Russia’s more-than-three-year assault on Ukraine one of his top foreign policy priorities.
In contrast to his predecessor, Joe Biden, who refused to engage with Moscow, Trump’s administration has done just that, holding at least two phone calls with Putin and dispatching top advisers, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to Saudi Arabia last month to open negotiations.
However, last week Trump lashed out at Putin and threatened Russia with new tariffs on oil products if Moscow blocks his cease-fire initiatives.
During a phone interview with NBC News on March 30, Trump said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” when Putin called for a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine, which could effectively push out current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Dmitriev was at the talks in Saudi Arabia, focused not only on resolving the war but more broadly on restoring US-Russian relations.
Considered a close ally of Putin, he is seen as a key player in talks on reviving investment between the two countries amid reports of talks over joint rare earth metals projects.
© American Military News