The Russian government all but confirmed reports in U.S. media that top negotiator Kirill Dmitriev will visit Washington D.C. this week, and possibly as early as today, to meet with the Trump administration for further peace talks.
Kirill Dmitriev, the U.S.-educated head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund will be the first senior Russian to visit Washington in several years this week, reports state, as he travels to continue peace and economic talks with the Untied States. The top negotiator [pictured, above right], who was on Russia’s Saudi Arabia talks team, is expected to meet Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy and de facto Moscow envoy.
Russian state media acknowledged a report by CNN claiming the impending visit, which they say may be as early as today, on Wednesday morning. Shortly afterwards Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media, coyly, that: “Yes, I confirm that such a visit may be possible. We continue our communication with the Americans through various channels”.
An ‘X’ account that has previously been associated with Mr Dmitriev responded to the report of his coming to Washington to say “maybe”, noting: “The resistance to US–Russia dialogue is real—driven by entrenched interests and old narratives.”
Dmitriev, who has previously attempted to reach out to the Trump administration by offering cooperation with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a mission to Mars, is sanctioned by the U.S. government. CNN claims those sanctions have been temporarily suspended to facilitate the diplomatic visit.
Russian state media notes this is the first visit by a senior Russian figure to the U.S. since 2022. Diplomatic relations between the two nations went into stasis with Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine that year, with the then-Biden White House pursuing a policy of freezing Russia out of the international community.
Witkoff, who is due to meet Dmitriev, previously met with Russia’s President Putin in Moscow in March. It had been widely anticipated that a call between Russia’s Putin and President Donald Trump would follow that meeting, and an in-person meeting after that, but progress on peace talks appears to have slowed with accusations Russia is dragging its heels to maximise its own position.
President Trump has acknowledged that as a bargaining tactic he’s used himself in the past, but has strongly criticised Russia’s bid to undermine his peace talks, saying it is “disappointing” and left him feeling “very angry, pissed off”. President Trump, who is unveiling worldwide tariffs today to rebalance the United States’ trade relationships to a more favourable footing, has threatened further action on Russia with ‘secondary tariffs’, which punish countries which buy Russian energy exports.
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