By The Moscow Times | Created at 2025-04-02 08:45:24 | Updated at 2025-04-03 08:32:09
23 hours ago
President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for international economic and investment cooperation will visit the United States this week to discuss strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, CNN reported Tuesday.
Kirill Dmitriev, who is under U.S. sanctions, will reportedly meet with special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff for talks. Dmitriev previously hinted at possible cooperation between Russia and the U.S. on Arctic development and rare earth metals projects, as well as Mars exploration with billionaire Elon Musk.
The U.S. government temporarily lifted sanctions against Dmitriev to grant him a U.S. visa, CNN reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
Reuters reported that Dmitriev, who also heads Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), will meet Witkoff on Wednesday. Witkoff has met with Putin twice in Moscow as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Dmitriev said his reported trip to the U.S. was a “maybe,” suggesting in a post on X that U.S.-Russia talks were being met with “resistance” from “entrenched interests and old narratives.”
“But what if improved relations are exactly what the world needs for lasting global security and peace?” Dmitriev wrote.
Trump has sought warmer relations with Russia since taking office in January and has repeatedly said that he hopes to have an in-person meeting with Putin soon. However, the U.S. president suggested in recent days that he is growing impatient with Russia’s apparent refusal to accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine.
Dmitriev’s reported trip to the U.S. may be aimed at de-escalating some of the tensions surrounding the peace negotiation process, according to Reuters.
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