Putin Names Sanctioned Banker As Envoy Amid US-Russia Diplomatic Breakthrough

Russian President Vladimir Putin has named Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, as a special envoy for global economic and investment cooperation. This is weeks after high-level US-Russia talks in Riyadh, the largest diplomatic engagement between the two countries since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitriev, 49, is regarded as one of the most America-connected figures in Russia’s ruling elite. A Harvard and Stanford-educated investment banker, he had worked at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey before coming back to Moscow in the early 2000s. He accompanied Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov in the recent US-Russia negotiations in Saudi Arabia.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has confirmed Dmitriev’s new role will be building economic ties between the Global South and Western nations, including the United States. Despite being sanctioned by the US, his appointment provides him with an official seat in Russia’s negotiating team.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has stated that yet another US-Russia meeting at the departmental level will take place later this week.

Dmitriev was reportedly involved in negotiations for the recent release of US teacher Marc Fogel, who was arrested in Russia. An American envoy explained that Dmitriev was the key in the deal, which also included the United States freeing a Russian in detention.

Having previously served in a leadership position in US-backed private equity house Delta Equity Partners in Russia, Dmitriev was appointed by Putin in 2011 to oversee the RDIF, inviting foreign investment. It was he who facilitated more intimate relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia that led to the OPEC+ oil price deal. After the Riyadh talks, he sat down in an individual meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, emphasizing his continued presence in diplomatic and economic matters.