Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters on 2 April that the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Russian president’s special representative for economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, may soon visit the United States.
“Yes, I confirm, such a visit is possible. We continue our communication with the Americans through various channels. I can’t say anything more specific,” Peskov said.
CNN reported earlier that Dmitriev might hold a meeting with US Presidential Special Representative Steven Witkoff.
His visit would be the first time a senior Russian official has travelled to Washington, D.C., for talks since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and marks the next step in a marked warming in relations between the two countries since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January.
Kirill Dmitriev is a close adviser to Putin and travelled with senior Russian officials to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in February to begin discussions on a settlement to end the war in Ukraine. He also worked with Whitkoff to free American teacher Mark Vogel from prison in Russia, which the Trump administration saw as a goodwill gesture.
The U.S. government temporarily lifted sanctions against Dmitriev to allow the State Department to grant him a visa to come to the U.S., a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Another source said the Treasury Department had received a request to temporarily suspend the sanctions.
A State Department spokesperson told CNN that” visa records are confidential under U.S. law,” so they “cannot comment on individual visa cases.”
The White House did not announce the planned visit.