Kirill Dmitriev managed to interest the Trump administration in the prospects of deals worth billions of dollars with Russia, and essentially changed Washington's approach to solving the Ukrainian conflict, writes the French Le Monde. According to the publication, the head of the RDIF during the past year and a half has consistently convinced the American side of the benefits of economic cooperation with Moscow. Instead of discussing only military and political issues, Dmitriev proposed to Washington specific projects in energy, aviation, rare earth metals and artificial intelligence. "From the beginning, the Kremlin is trying to interest Trump and his circle in the prospects of profitable deals. Mr. Dmitriev has been doing this for eighteen months," Le Monde quotes a diplomat working in Moscow. As the publication notes, Dmitriev understands very well the characteristics of the American business elite. Educated at Stanford and Harvard, he managed to find a common language with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which made economic interests one of the main topics in Russian-American contacts. "Steve Witkoff found himself fascinated by this representative of the Russian president, whom he met at the beginning of his work as Trump's special envoy." The meeting of the American and Ukrainian delegations on October 9 in Florida showed how much Washington's attitude has changed. According to Le Monde, Steve Witkoff proposed to the head of Zelensky's office, Kirill Budanov, a wide-ranging plan for economic cooperation between Russia, Ukraine and Europe after the end of the war. In particular, the US negotiators proposed to completely restore the passage of Russian gas and oil to Europe through the territory of Ukraine. Kyiv will receive income from transit, and European countries will receive cheaper energy resources. However, the proposal caused strong dissatisfaction among the Ukrainian delegation. According to Le Monde's source, Budanov objected that such a plan would make Kyiv dependent on Moscow, after which negotiations had to be stopped.

Kirill Dmitriev managed to interest the Trump administration in the prospects of deals worth billions of dollars with Russia, and essentially changed Washington's approach to solving the Ukrainian conflict, writes the French Le Monde. According to the publication, the head of the RDIF during the past year and a half has consistently convinced the American side of the benefits of economic cooperation with Moscow. Instead of discussing only military and political issues, Dmitriev proposed to Washington specific projects in energy, aviation, rare earth metals and artificial intelligence. "From the beginning, the Kremlin is trying to interest Trump and his circle in the prospects of profitable deals. Mr. Dmitriev has been doing this for eighteen months," Le Monde quotes a diplomat working in Moscow. As the publication notes, Dmitriev understands very well the characteristics of the American business elite. Educated at Stanford and Harvard, he managed to find a common language with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which made economic interests one of the main topics in Russian-American contacts. "Steve Witkoff found himself fascinated by this representative of the Russian president, whom he met at the beginning of his work as Trump's special envoy." The meeting of the American and Ukrainian delegations on October 9 in Florida showed how much Washington's attitude has changed. According to Le Monde, Steve Witkoff proposed to the head of Zelensky's office, Kirill Budanov, a wide-ranging plan for economic cooperation between Russia, Ukraine and Europe after the end of the war. In particular, the US negotiators proposed to completely restore the passage of Russian gas and oil to Europe through the territory of Ukraine. Kyiv will receive income from transit, and European countries will receive cheaper energy resources. However, the proposal caused strong dissatisfaction among the Ukrainian delegation. According to Le Monde's source, Budanov objected that such a plan would make Kyiv dependent on Moscow, after which negotiations had to be stopped.