WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with US officials in Washington on Wednesday (April 2) as the Trump administration continues to press Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, two US officials familiar with the matter said.
Dmitriev, a Stanford-educated former Goldman Sachs investment banker, is one of the most US-savvy members of Russia's elite, with close relations to some key members of the Trump team. He is the highest-ranking Russian official to travel to the US on state business since Russia's 2022 expanded invasion of Ukraine.
It was not clear what Dmitriev discussed with the US officials.
But his visit comes after President Donald Trump expressed his frustration with the pace of ceasefire talks, saying on Sunday he was "pissed off" with Putin and raising the possibility of imposing sanctions on those who buy Russian crude. Russia is the world's second largest exporter of crude after Saudi Arabia.
Steve Witkoff, a Trump envoy who has taken the lead on the Trump administration's contacts with the Kremlin, invited Dmitriev to the US last week, said the US officials. The White House directed the State Department to issue a short-term licence for Dmitriev to travel to the country, a necessary step as Dmitriev faces US sanctions, the officials said.
Dmitriev may be key in repairing relations that were, until Trump's January inauguration, the worst between Moscow and Washington since the most dangerous junctures of the Cold War.
The Russian envoy played a role in early contacts with the US when Trump was first elected president in 2016, as well as in building relations with Saudi Arabia, which led to an oil price agreement under the expanded OPEC+ producers' forum.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration notably did not include Russia on an expansive list of countries that will face major new tariffs. Ukraine was slapped with a 10 per cent levy, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.
Trump has expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who he said was trying to renegotiate a minerals deal.
Over recent weeks, Dmitriev has mentioned a host of initiatives in which Russia and the US could work together, from investment, rare earths and energy to the Arctic, space and co-operation with Elon Musk.
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