Russia’s top economic envoy has quietly arrived in Washington for official meetings just days after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new sanctions targeting Moscow’s biggest oil producers.
The visit comes at a sensitive moment in US-Russia relations, following the Trump administration’s decision to sanction Rosneft and Lukoil and the US call for an immediate ceasefire in the war against Ukraine. It marks the latest instance of direct contact between officials from the two countries despite ongoing tensions and sanctions.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, is expected to hold talks with senior Trump administration officials about the future of US-Russia relations, sources familiar with the visit told CNN.
The trip follows Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of new sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies. The measures were introduced as part of Washington’s pressure campaign for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The impact of the restrictions is already rippling through global energy markets. Chinese state oil majors have suspended seaborne purchases of Russian crude, and Indian refiners are sharply cutting imports, according to industry sources. The moves threaten to squeeze Moscow’s key export revenues, as China and India are Russia’s two largest oil buyers.
Putin said the sanctions would have little impact on Russia’s economy, calling them an attempt to put pressure on Moscow. “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” he said, adding that he warned Trump the move could affect global oil prices, including in the US.
Kirill Dmitriev, sanctioned Russian envoy
After the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the US Treasury sanctioned Dmitriev as a “close associate of Putin.”
In April 2025, he became the first Russian official to visit Washington since the invasion, meeting Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. CNN reported that the US government temporarily lifted sanctions to grant him a visa for that visit.
During his April visit, Dmitriev promoted potential economic cooperation on Arctic projects, rare earth minerals, and liquefied natural gas while claiming Russia "is not asking for lifting of sanctions." The Institute for the Study of War described these statements as a "deceptive parallel negotiating track" that diverged significantly from Moscow's actual maximalist positions.
