President Vladimir Putins special envoy for international economic and investment cooperation confirmed Thursday that he has been meeting with White House officials in the United States this week.Kirill Dmitriev, who also heads Russias Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), is the highest-ranking Russian official to have visited the U.S.
since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.At the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, I am holding meetings in Washington with representatives of President Donald Trumps administration, Dmitriev wrote on his personal Telegram channel, saying that talks began on Wednesday and would continue into Thursday.Just hours before, Dmitrievposted a photo of his presumed flight path to Washington D.C.
across the Atlantic Ocean on X.
It was not immediately clear whether the time of that post matched the time of his arrival.The White House has not publicly commented on the visit.Earlier on Thursday, Reutersreportedthat Dmitriev, who is sanctioned by Washington, had already met with U.S.
officials the day before, though the news agency said the issues raised during that meeting were not known.Reports suggest that Dmitrievs trip may be aimed atde-escalating tensions surrounding peace negotiations in Ukraine after Trump expressed frustration over Russias refusal to accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire.Dmitriev wrote that restoring U.S.-Russian bilateral relations would be a difficult and gradual process and accused numerous forces of seeking to maintain tensions between the two countries.Opponents of rapprochement are afraid that Russia and the United States will find common ground, begin to understand each other better and build cooperation both in international affairs and the economy, he said.Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff invited Dmitriev to the U.S.
last week and the White House directed the State Department to issue a short-term license to allow him to enter the country, Reuters reported, citing anonymous U.S.
officials familiar with the matter.Dmitriev wrote on Telegram that he would provide brief comments about his meetings in Washington D.C.
sometime later.