Kremlin official says he’s meeting Trump admin in first Russian visit to US since Ukraine war

A Russian official said he is in Washington this week to meet with Trump administration officials as talks continue to hash out a potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. 

“On April 2–3, at the request of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, I will hold meetings in Washington with representatives of the administration of President Donald Trump,” Russia’s special envoy on international economic and investment, Kirill Dmitriev, posted to Telegram Thursday confirming the visit. 

The post was published in Russian and translated to English. 

“Yes, restoring dialogue is a difficult and gradual process. But each meeting, each frank conversation allows us to move forward,” he continued. “A real understanding of the Russian position opens up new opportunities for constructive cooperation, including in the investment and economic sphere.” 

Dmitriev’s trip marks the first time a senior Russian official has traveled to the U.S. to meet with officials since war broke out between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022. No Russian officials visited the Biden White House. 

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Dmitriev, traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with “representatives of the administration of President Donald Trump” Wednesday, and will reportedly hold meetings again with Trump officials Thursday, according to the Telegram post. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment on the visit. 

The Russian envoy did not specify who in the Trump administration he was meeting. Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff has previously cited the Russian official as his primary counterpart when he helped hash out a prisoner exchange deal with Russia in February that led to the release of American teacher Marc Fogel.

The visit comes after President Donald Trump told NBC News Sunday that he was “pissed off” with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Russian president slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership last week. Russia also carried out a series of attacks on Ukraine over the weekend amid ongoing talks to reach a potential peace agreement. 

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“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault – which it might not be – but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC News.

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“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” he continued. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”

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Trump added that his anger will “dissipate quickly” if Putin “does the right thing.”

The reported Russia-U.S. meeting came the same week Trump celebrated “Liberation Day,” when he unveiled his highly anticipated tariff plan that his administration has said will unshackle the U.S. from its decadeslong reliance on goods from overseas. 

The new tariff plan did not include reciprocal tariffs on Russia – as well as other nations such as Canada and Mexico – with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying the United States doesn’t trade with Russia because the nation is sanctioned.