The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday that a visit by Kirill Dmitriev - the investment envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin - to the United States to meet with Donald Trump's officials is possible. However, it declined to provide any additional details.

CNN reported that Dmitriev, the highest-ranking Russian official since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is due to arrive in Washington this week for talks. CNN was the first to report this news.

When asked by journalists if Dmitriev will be visiting Washington to meet with officials of the Trump administration, including U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that such a trip was possible.

Peskov confirmed that a possible visit was indeed possible. "We continue to have communication with the Americans via various channels. "I can't give you any more details."

Dmitriev's Russian Direct Investment Fund declined to comment immediately.

Trump, who wants to be known as a peacemaker in history, has said repeatedly that he wants Ukraine's three-year conflict to end. He has also warned against the risk of it turning into a third world war between the United States of America and Russia.

The U.S. President said he was "pissed" at Putin on Sunday and suggested that sanctions could be imposed on those who purchase Russian crude. Russia is the second-largest crude oil exporter in the world, after Saudi Arabia.

Trump also expressed his frustration at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who, he claimed, was trying to renegotiate an agreement on minerals.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said that Putin remains open to talks on peace. "President Putin is open to seeking a diplomatic and political settlement in Ukraine."

PUTIN'S INVESTOR ENVOY

Dmitriev's agenda in Washington isn't known, but he may bring a message to Trump from Putin.

The former Goldman Sachs Investment Banker, who graduated from Stanford University, is among the most U.S. savvy members of Russia’s elite and has close ties to key members of Trump's team.

He could be the key to repairing the relations between Moscow and Washington that, up until Trump's inauguration in January, were the worst since the most dangerous junctures during the Cold War.

Dmitriev (49), played a key role in the early contact with the U.S. after Trump became president in 2016. He also helped build relations with Saudi Arabia which led to a price agreement for oil under the expanded OPEC+ Producers' Forum.

Dmitriev has met with Putin regularly and U.S. sanction statements labeled him as "a known Putin allie".

Dmitriev, in recent weeks, has talked about a number of ways that Russia and the United States can work together. These include investment, rare Earths, energy, the Arctic, and space, as well as cooperation with Elon Musk. (Reporting and Editing by Ros Russel)

(source: Reuters)