Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev has held "constructive" talks with representatives of the US administration on ending the war in Ukraine and on possible joint US-Russian energy projects after its end, "Reuters" reported, citing a US official.
Dmitriev, who also heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), was in Washington on Monday to continue direct dialogue between Moscow and the administration of President Donald Trump.
"The goal was to continue constructive discussions on a peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and on possible US-Russian energy initiatives after the end of the war," the US official said.
The visit comes after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York last week. After that, Zelensky announced that the two had discussed a possible mutual cessation of strikes on energy facilities.
Earlier in September, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and spoke for more than three hours with Putin in the Kremlin. Dmitriev participated in the meeting along with the Russian president's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
At the time, the Kremlin described the talks as "extremely useful", but no breakthrough was announced on the main contentious issues. According to Ushakov, the meeting was not limited to the war in Ukraine, but potential major economic projects between Russia and the United States were also discussed in detail.
Dmitriev - the economic channel between the Kremlin and the White House
Over the past year, Kirill Dmitriev has gradually become one of the main direct channels between the Kremlin and the Trump team.
Unlike traditional Russian diplomacy, Dmitriev conducts a significant part of the talks through the economy - energy, investments, sanctions and possible joint projects. This allows Moscow and Washington to maintain contact even when official negotiations on Ukraine are at a standstill.
Dmitriev studied in the United States and before returning to Russia worked for Goldman Sachs and the consulting company McKinsey. "Reuters" notes that in Moscow he is perceived as one of the Russian representatives with the best contacts and understanding of the American side.
In March he visited the United States for talks with an American delegation, which included Witkoff and Kushner. The main topic then was the energy crisis and the possibility of temporary easing of American sanctions against Russian oil.
Dmitriev was in the United States again in April, when he spoke with representatives of the Trump administration about Ukraine, economic cooperation and the sanctions regime. Subsequently, Washington has repeatedly extended temporary exceptions allowing certain purchases of Russian oil, arguing for stabilizing global energy markets.
Dmitriev himself stated in June that his contacts with Witkoff and Kushner continue constantly even when the formal peace process has stopped.
In addition to energy issues, he is also involved in negotiating prisoner exchanges between Russia and the United States.
A new visit after the UN General Assembly
The current visit is Dmitriev's latest to the United States. It was pre-arranged with Putin and began last week in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
There, Dmitriev was to talk with Witkoff, Kushner and other administration officials about Ukraine, energy and future economic cooperation between the two countries.
The talks followed Putin's meeting with Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow on September 5. Before being received by the Russian president, the two American representatives also had a working lunch of about three hours with Dmitriev.
This creates a parallel negotiation channel, in which a possible end to the war in Ukraine is being discussed simultaneously with economic relations between Moscow and Washington after the conflict.
The fact that the American side is now openly talking about "possible US-Russian energy initiatives after the end of the war" shows that the talks are now touching not only on the conditions for the cessation of hostilities, but also on possible economic relations between the two countries after a possible peace agreement.
It has not yet been reported what specific energy projects were discussed.
Russia and Ukraine continue to have significant disagreements over the conditions for ending the war, and the American mediation efforts carried out in recent months have not yet led to a comprehensive peace agreement.