Putin envoy Dmitriev, Trump envoy Witkoff meet in Washington

By Erin Banco, Humeyra Pamuk and Gleb Stolyarov

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. officials in Washington on Wednesday as the Trump administration continues to press Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said.

Dmitriev, a Stanford-educated former Goldman Sachs investment banker, is one of the most U.S.-savvy members of Russia's elite, with close relations to some key members of the Trump team. He is the highest-ranking Russian official to travel to the U.S. on state business since Russia's 2022 expanded invasion of Ukraine.

It was not clear what Dmitriev discussed with the U.S. officials. 

But his visit comes after President Donald Trump expressed his frustration with the pace of ceasefire talks, saying on Sunday he was "pissed off" with Putin and raising the possibility of imposing sanctions on those who buy Russian crude. Russia is the world's second largest exporter of crude after Saudi Arabia.

Steve Witkoff, a Trump envoy who has taken the lead on the Trump administration's contacts with the Kremlin, invited Dmitriev to the United States last week, said the U.S. officials. The White House directed the State Department to issue a short-term license for Dmitriev to travel to the country, a necessary step as Dmitriev faces U.S. sanctions, the officials said.

Dmitriev may be key in repairing relations that were, until Trump's January inauguration, the worst between Moscow and Washington since the most dangerous junctures of the Cold War.

The Russian envoy played a role in early contacts with the U.S. when Trump was first elected president in 2016, as well as in building relations with Saudi Arabia, which led to an oil price agreement under the expanded OPEC+ producers' forum.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration notably did not include Russia on an expansive list of countries that will face major new tariffs. Ukraine was slapped with a 10% levy, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.

Trump has expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who he said was trying to renegotiate a minerals deal.  

Over recent weeks, Dmitriev has mentioned a host of initiatives in which Russia and the United States could work together, from investment, rare earths and energy to the Arctic, space and cooperation with Elon Musk.  

(Reporting by Erin Banco and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and Gleb Stolyarov in Moscow; Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Ros Russell)