Russia’s Top Economic Envoy Visits US For Talks After Trump’s New Sanctions: Report

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 18:05 IST

Kirill Dmitriev is expected to meet senior US officials to “continue discussions about the US-Russia relationship,” it was reported.

Kirill Dmitriev is the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) and a special envoy for the Kremlin.

Russia’s top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in the United States for talks with the Donald Trump administration- just days after Washington unveiled sweeping new sanctions on Moscow’s energy sector, CNN reported citing sources in the know.

Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) and a special envoy for the Kremlin, is expected to meet senior US officials to “continue discussions about the US-Russia relationship," the report claimed. The visit marks a rare high-level exchange between Washington and Moscow at a time of escalating diplomatic and economic tensions.

The trip comes only days after Donald Trump imposed tough sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies- Rosneft and Lukoil- over the Kremlin’s continued military campaign in Ukraine. The sanctions are among the most severe yet, effectively cutting off key Russian energy firms from Western financial markets.

Donald Trump said the sanctions were part of a broader strategy to compel Russia to agree to “an immediate ceasefire" in Ukraine. He also confirmed that he had canceled a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid a growing chill between the two nations.

Vladimir Putin, however, dismissed the measures as ineffectual, saying, “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure." The Russian President added that he had warned Donald Trump that the sanctions would push up global oil prices, including in the United States.

Who Is Kirill Dmitriev?

Kirill Dmitriev, 49, has long been seen as a key figure in Moscow’s efforts to maintain dialogue with Washington. Born in Soviet-era Ukraine, he was educated at Harvard and Stanford and previously worked for McKinsey & Company and Goldman Sachs before leading the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Kirill Dmitriev has been under US Treasury sanctions since 2022, when the department designated him a “close associate of Putin." CNN reported that the US government temporarily lifted those sanctions to allow him entry for this week’s talks, granting a special State Department visa.

This is Kirill Dmitriev’s second visit to Washington since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His previous trip, in April, included a meeting with Donald Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, which was widely interpreted as a sign of warming relations at the time.

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