WASHINGTON — Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev was in Washington DC on Monday, meeting with US officials to discuss stopping war with Ukraine and potential post-war energy deals with the United States, the White House said.
Dimitriev’s visit comes after President Trump met with President Zelensky in New York last week and urged the Ukrainian leader to enact an energy-infrastructure ceasefire.
The president is also interested in a deal where Russia would release some political prisoners in exchange for the easing of US sanctions, The Atlantic reported.
Dmitriev’s visit would align with those aims, along with Trump’s interest in reintegrating Russia into the global economy and getting access to its vast energy reserves, which include oil, diesel, rare earth minerals, natural gas, and other commodities.
“Kirill Dmitriev was in Washington, D.C. yesterday meeting with U.S. officials to continue constructive discussions on a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and possible U.S.-Russia energy initiatives after the war ends,” a White House official told The Post.
Trump has pushed both sides to come to the table and make a deal to end the war. He also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit he’s holding in December in Miami. Zelensky has suggested that the summit would be a good time for a trilateral meeting to discuss a ceasefire.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also huddled with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week at the United Nations. Rubio said Russia and Ukraine have expressed an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy targets, but acknowledged that it “won’t be easy.”
While in Washington, Dmitriev met with officials from the Energy and Treasury departments. A US-educated banker, Dmitriev has been the lead Russian negotiator with the USand often meets with special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Kushner and Witkoff met with a host of officials at the UN last week — including Zelensky and Dmitriev — as they try to bring the war to a close.
The envoys felt there has been “real progress” made.
“I sense a sort of feeling of hope and promise. When all these nations come together and they can talk face to face — that’s what drives progress,” Witkoff told The Post.
The US has placed heavy sanctions on Russia because of the war with Ukraine, and Trump recently signed the Lindsey Graham Sanctions Act into law, which could inflict more pain.
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