Chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund to meet Trump envoy in Washington this week, source says

By Gram Slattery and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev is expected to visit Washington this week for talks with the Trump administration, said a source familiar with the plan, the first visit by a senior Russian official since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Dmitriev, who was appointed last month as Russia's special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation, will meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Their meeting was reported earlier by CNN, which said Dmitriev and Witkoff will hold talks about strengthening relations between the two countries as they seek to end the war in Ukraine.

"Maybe. The resistance to US-Russia dialogue is real-driven by entrenched interests and old narratives," Dmitriev said in a post on X responding to the CNN report.

"But what if improved relations are exactly what the world needs for lasting global security and peace."

The White House and the U.S. Department of State did not immediately provide comment. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dmitriev's trip follows recent telephone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and comes as Trump seeks to meet with his Russian counterpart soon as the two countries have sought to mend damaged relations.

After being hit by Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine and capitalizing on Trump's comments about repairing bilateral ties, Russia is keen to bring back international investors to its vast resources and help to diversify its economy driven chiefly by war since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Dmitriev, considered the most U.S.-savvy member of Russia's elite, has said the two countries have already started talking about projects in Russia, such as a joint rare earth metals deal, after Putin suggested in February that the United States might be interested in exploring joint exploration for the deposits in Russia. Russia has the world's fifth-largest reserves of the metals used in lasers and military equipment.

Russia has also been keen to attract investors to help develop its Arctic region, Dmitriev said last week. Putin wants commerce ramped up via the Northern Sea Route through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Jasper Ward; Writing by Jasper Ward and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry)