Presidential aide hosts key Putin emissary for DC talks

A Kremlin envoy on Thursday praised the Trump administration for hearing "Russia's position on many issues" after two days of meetings in Washington that marked the first time in years that a senior Russian official had travelled to the United States for talks with American counterparts.

- ANTON TROIANOVSKI

The envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and President Donald Trump's senior aide on Russia negotiations, Steve Witkoff, at the White House on Wednesday, a source said.

Mr Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund and President Vladimir Putin's special representative for investment and economic cooperation, said he held further meetings on Thursday "with key members of the Trump administration," without identifying them.

He said he had discussed economic matters and claimed there was "a great desire by American companies to return to Russia. He said we had discussed "the possibility of cooperation on rare earth metals, in the Arctic and in various other sectors."

He said Russia was working to restore direct flights to the United States, which banned Russian planes from its airspace after Mr Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"Of course, there are disagreements on various points," Mr Dmitriev, speaking in Russian, told reporters in Washington, according to a video of his remarks distributed by a Russian news agency.

"But there is a process and a dialogue that, in our understanding, will help overcome these differences."