(AFP) – Russia’s top economic negotiator announced Thursday that he was in Washington for talks on improving ties, the highest-level visit by a Kremlin official to the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine. Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said he was “holding meetings in Washington with representatives of President Donald Trump’s administration,” without elaborating.
US media reported that Dmitriev arrived Wednesday and was expected to meet with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House, though his itinerary has not been made public. The talks come as Trump pushes for warmer ties with Moscow, reaching out to President Vladimir Putin and holding direct talks with Russian officials in the hope of brokering a ceasefire in the three-year Ukraine war. “The dialogue between Russia and the United States, which is crucial for the entire world, was completely destroyed under the Biden administration,” Dmitriev wrote on Telegram, announcing the visit. “Restoring dialogue is not an easy process, and it’s gradual. But every meeting, every frank conversation allows us to move forward,” he added.
The Kremlin did not give details on Dmitriev’s visit, saying only that he was working within “his mandate.” Dmitriev was recently appointed Putin’s special envoy on economic cooperation with foreign countries. The official praised Trump’s global tariff salvo in an X post later on Thursday, saying the US had set “a precedent for self-reliant growth and sustainable job creation” and that it reflected a shift towards economic sovereignty.
The White House has not publicly commented on the visit, while the Kremlin said the substance of Dmitriev’s talks would only be revealed once they were finished. Dmitriev did not say what would be discussed, but the trip comes after Trump voiced frustration at the slow pace of ceasefire negotiations for Ukraine. Putin last month rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire and has made a US-proposed truce in the Black Sea dependent on the West lifting certain sanctions.
Trump also told NBC News over the weekend that he was “very angry, pissed off” with Putin after he suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky be removed from power as part of a peace settlement. But he claimed to have “a very good relationship” with his Russian counterpart and said “the anger dissipates quickly… if he does the right thing.” Russia is hoping Washington will lift massive sanctions on its economy as part of a peace settlement, including those targeting its state-owned agricultural lender.
Dmitriev, who was himself sanctioned by the United States, was allowed to visit only after the restrictions on him were temporarily eased, US media reported. A former Goldman Sachs banker and graduate of Stanford University in California, Dmitriev has played a key role in the rapprochement between Russia and the United States, taking part in the first round of talks with Trump officials in Saudi Arabia in February. Witkoff, a key Trump ally, had already traveled to Russia to meet Putin last month. Senior Russian diplomat Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that recent contacts had not yet yielded a “breakthrough.” “Step by step, slowly, we are beginning to move, I hope, towards normality,” he told Russia’s International Life magazine.
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