Putin's envoy to the United States. Talks on US-Russia relations continue

On Wednesday evening, the United States announced its decision to impose sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies , Rosneft and Lukoil, and their subsidiaries. The decision came shortly after the US canceled a previously announced summit with Putin in Budapest.

Unofficial reports indicate that the summit will not take place due to Russia's rejection of a ceasefire along the current front lines. Moscow is said to be demanding a Ukrainian withdrawal from the part of the Donetsk Oblast still under its control, offering in return some concessions in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts it controls.

Vladimir Putin called the US sanctions a hostile act that will certainly not strengthen " Russian-American relations, which are only just beginning to recover ."

He admitted that they are of a "serious nature ", but in his opinion "they will not significantly affect " the state of the Russian economy.

Donald Trump responded to this dismissive statement briefly: "I'm glad he thinks so. We'll see in six months."

Despite recent friction in relations between Moscow and Washington, Kirill Dmitriev , head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and a special Kremlin envoy, has arrived in the US. He is scheduled to meet with Trump administration officials "to continue discussions on U.S.-Russian relations."

Dmitriev said that " the US-Russia dialogue will continue despite recent hostile steps ." In a post published on X on Friday, Dmitriev stated that his visit was "planned some time ago at the invitation of the American side." He added that the dialogue between his country and the US is "crucial for the world and must continue with full understanding of Russia's position and respect for its national interests."

Dmitriev claims that "various forces," including the UK and European countries, are trying to torpedo the dialogue between Putin and Donald Trump.

The Russian envoy did not want to say in an interview with Reuters who he would be holding talks with during his visit to the United States.

However, Axios reported that Dmitriev is scheduled to meet on Saturday in Miami, Florida, with Steve Witkoff, as well as with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently in Israel.

As CNN reports, in April, Dmitriev became the first Russian official to visit Washington since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, his visit—during which he met with Witkoff—was hailed as a significant step in the thawing of relations between the Kremlin and the White House.

The US had previously imposed sanctions on Dmitriev as a "close associate of Putin" and his family.

In April, the U.S. government temporarily lifted sanctions against Dmitriev so the State Department could issue him a visa to the U.S.