The Kremlin’s top economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has arrived in the United States for official talks, just days after Donald Trump announced new sanctions against Russia, according to CNN reports.
Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and special envoy of the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, is expected to meet with Trump administration officials “to continue discussions on US-Russia bilateral relations,” according to sources familiar with the contacts.
Visit amid climate of tension
Dmitriev’s visit comes during a period of intense diplomatic tensions, as Washington pressures Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Trump had declared that he “canceled” the scheduled meeting with Vladimir Putin, while the US government imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, demanding an immediate ceasefire.
In response, Putin argued that the sanctions would have “minimal impact” on the Russian economy and characterized them as an “attempt to exert pressure on Moscow.” “No self-respecting country acts under pressure,” he stated, adding that he warned Trump that the measures would affect global oil prices.
Putin’s key man in the US
Dmitriev is considered a key supporter of Russia-US economic cooperation and has previously proposed building a “Trump-Putin” underwater tunnel between Alaska and Russia’s Far East.
Born in Soviet-era Ukraine, he studied at Harvard and Stanford, worked at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine was added to the US sanctions list as a “close associate of Putin.”
In April 2025, he became the first Russian official to visit Washington after the war began, meeting with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
According to a CNN source, the US government temporarily lifted sanctions against him to allow his entry into the US for the meeting.
