Dialogue between Moscow and Washington is of the utmost importance for the entire world, Kirill Dmitriev has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin's economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has said that he has arrived in Washington to hold negotiations with US officials.

Dmitriev has become the highest-ranking Russian official to visit the US since the escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. The trip comes amid ongoing efforts between the Kremlin and the White House to find a diplomatic solution.

According to earlier reports in the US media, Putin's special economic representative was expected to meet with US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who oversees the administrations' contacts with Russia.

In a post on Telegram on Thursday, Dmitriev confirmed that he has been "holding meetings in Washington with representatives of the Trump administration" on Wednesday and Thursday at the behest of the Russian president. He promised to provide further comments once the negotiations have concluded.

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"Dialogue between Russia and the US, which is of the utmost importance for the entire world, has been completely destroyed under the previous administration of US President Joe Biden," he wrote.

Dmitriev, who heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund, stressed that "numerous forces" in many countries are now vying to derail the efforts being made by Moscow and Washington to restore relations.

"The opponents of rapprochement are afraid that Russia and the US will find common ground, begin to better understand each other and build cooperation, both in international affairs and in the economy," he said.