Following the US Department of the Treasury sanctioning of Russia’s oil giants, Lukoil and Rosneft, the Kremlin sent its own representative to the US to try and convince the US to change course. Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, travelled to Miami, Florida, to meet US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in an attempt to persuade him to, in turn, convince President Trump to retract his previous positions on Russia.
Kirill Dmitriev’s tactics of persuasion weren’t very successful. He took opportunity from the meeting with Witkoff to brag about Vladimir Putin’s latest announcement that Russia tested a so-called “nuclear-powered missiles” called the “Burevestnik”. He also told Witkoff that the Russian economy is in good shape and that sanctions won’t affect it. Later on in the evening, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Dimitriev as a “Russian propogandist” and implied not to take him seriously.
When asked about the announcement of the new Russian missile, President Donald Trump dismissed any concerns and said that the US tests missiles all the time and has one of its strongest nuclear submarines outside of Russia’s shores, and that “We don’t need to go 8,000 miles”. “We are not playing games” he concluded.
While in Florida, Kirill Dmitriev also met with Republican Congresswoman, Anna Paulina Lina who has currently been doing the Kremlin’s bidding and repeating its talking points. She serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Newsroom
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