Reports indicate Kirill Dmitriev will meet with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s negotiator for Ukraine.
According to CNN and Axios, Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to visit Washington this week. The reports cite individuals with knowledge of the situation.
Dmitriev, who is the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, attended the meeting in Riyadh on February 18 where U.S. and Russian officials agreed to begin normalizing relations. This meeting was part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Reports suggest Dmitriev will meet with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine. He would be the first high-ranking Russian official to visit the U.S. since former President Joe Biden halted diplomatic contact in 2022. The U.S. Treasury Department reportedly eased sanctions against Dmitriev temporarily to allow his entry into the country.
Responding to the reports of his potential visit, Dmitriev commented “maybe” on his X account. He added, “The resistance to US–Russia dialogue is real – driven by entrenched interests and old narratives,” and questioned, “But what if improved relations are exactly what the world needs for lasting global security and peace?”
On Sunday, Trump threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” on Moscow if Russia and Ukraine fail to “make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine.”
Russia has accused Ukraine of violating the mutual pause on attacks on energy infrastructure, an idea proposed by Trump during a call with Putin on March 18. Despite Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s promise to honor the agreement, Russia claims there have been drone strikes on its fuel depots, as well as a missile strike on a gas metering station.
Moscow has maintained that any future settlement must address the fundamental causes of the conflict, including NATO’s eastward expansion. Russia has demanded that Ukraine abandon its aspirations of joining the NATO alliance and commit to a permanently neutral status. Additionally, Moscow has stated that Kiev must relinquish its claims to Crimea and four other regions that have voted to join Russia.