Who is Putin’s envoy Dmitriev and what will he discuss in Washington?

Who is Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, who is reportedly heading to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration?

What is his job?
Dmitriev, 49, the chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund since 2011, was appointed in February as Putin’s special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation.

Why is he important?
Dmitriev has regular meetings with Putin and is one of the most US-savvy members of Russia’s elite with close relations to some key members of the Trump team.
He played a role in early contacts with the US when Trump was first elected president in 2016, as well as in building relations with Saudi Arabia.
Dmitriev has met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman dozens of times, and met US special envoy Steve Witkoff when he visited Moscow.
Dmitriev’s wife Natalya is a deputy to Katerina Tikhonova, one of Putin’s daughters, at a foundation which works with Moscow State University where they both studied. Both of Putin’s daughters were sanctioned by the United States in 2022.

What is his background?
Dmitriev was born in Kyiv, in Soviet Ukraine, where he studied at a top school known for its expertise in physics and mathematics. He studied at Stanford University in California and was later awarded an MBA with distinction at Harvard.
He speaks fluent English. After Stanford, he worked at Goldman Sachs in New York and also worked for McKinsey & Company. In Moscow, he worked as CEO for Delta Private Equity Partners, an investment management company established by the US Russia Investment Fund.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, led by Dmitriev since 2011, organized the production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 - and helped to promote it in foreign markets.

What could he discuss in Washington?
It is not known for sure what he will discuss but Dmitriev could bring a message from Putin to Trump.

He has also spoken about a host of areas where Russia and the United States could cooperate economically, financially and in space. Those include:

• The return of US companies to Russia.

• Rare earths

• Energy prices

• The Arctic, logistics and climate change

• Prisoner swaps

• Space and cooperation with Elon Musk

Is he sanctioned?
US sanctions statements cast Dmitriev as “a known Putin ally.” He was not sanctioned by the European Union.

CNN, which first reported the visit to Washington, said the Trump administration had temporarily lifted the sanctions for his visit.