Sept 23 (Reuters) – Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev is heading to the US on Wednesday, where he will meet with Trump administration representatives Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and others, two sources familiar with preparations for the talks told Reuters.
The sources said Dmitriev’s visit to the US, which was agreed upon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will take place in New York during the UN General Assembly and will follow up on a meeting between Putin and US representatives at the Kremlin earlier this month.
One source said that the aim of the visit is to keep the Russia-US dialogue and the peacemaking effort going.
The source added that economic cooperation between Russia and the US, as well as energy issues, and a peaceful settlement in Ukraine will be on the agenda of Dmitriev’s talks in New York.
After meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that both Russia and Ukraine had expressed interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy and that he hoped Putin would accept an invitation to attend the G20 summit in the US.
Putin met the US representatives alongside his foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, and Dmitriev, who also had a three-hour talk over lunch with Witkoff and Kushner prior to the meeting on September 5.
Dmitriev, a US-educated investment banker who worked at Goldman Sachs and consulting firm McKinsey, is viewed in Russia as the most US-friendly negotiator.
During his previous contacts with Witkoff and Kushner, Dmitriev negotiated a sanctions waiver for seaborne Russian oil aimed at stabilizing the global energy markets as well as several prisoner exchanges between Russia and the US.
(Reporting by Reuters MoscowEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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