The Kremlin confirms that the Trump administration is discussing lifting sanctions imposed on Russia’s investment fund

Talks between the administration of US President Donald Trump and Russian officials on lifting sanctions imposed on the Russian Direct Investment Fund are ongoing, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday.

According to Ushakov, Kirill Dmitriev, the fund’s head and an envoy of President Vladimir Putin, is actively negotiating on the issue. “This discussion is ongoing. It has been going on for some time. I don’t know what the outcome will be,” the Russian official said, as quoted by Reuters.

The comments came after The New York Times reported that the Trump administration was considering the possibility of dropping sanctions against the Russian fund. Any such decision would represent a new sign of rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, as the United States has already made some concessions regarding measures imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Earlier this month, Trump temporarily suspended sanctions on Russian fuel after Moscow announced that it would supply diesel to the United States and international markets. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said a fourth tanker was due to depart on Wednesday. The US president also suspended tariffs and other sanctions related to imports of Russian oil and gas.