Russian Envoy to Newsmax: Must Restore Relations With US

Kirill Dmitriev, an economic investment envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Newsmax on Thursday that his visit to the U.S. this week — the first by a high-ranking Russian official since the start of the war in Ukraine — was a step in the right direction in restoring relations between the nuclear powers.

Dmitriev, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Business School, reportedly met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House on Wednesday and held further meetings Thursday with other key members of the Trump administration.

"It's very important to start restoring U.S., Russia relations," Dmitriev told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "And you know, I went to school in the U.S., I worked in the U.S. I really believe in the U.S. economy and that Russia and U.S. can do so many great things together.

"Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, under President Putin's leadership, it's possible to start restoring U.S. relations, to start having dialogue because dialogue is very important."

Although Dmitriev said he was in the U.S. to discuss economic investment opportunities in Russia, he said other geopolitical issues were discussed, such as the 3-year-old war in Ukraine.

"I was one of the people who at the beginning of the Ukraine conflict who said that only [a] diplomatic solution is possible," Dmitriev said. "So, we are trying to figure out all sorts of tensions and all sorts of differences that prevent U.S. and Russia from moving forward strongly."

Dmitriev said the U.S. and Russia can work together in many areas, such as fighting terrorism, working in the Arctic and on developing rare earth minerals in Russia. He added that Russia would like to assist the U.S. and Elon Musk with a planned mission to Mars because "Russia has some nuclear technology that can be helpful."

Despite economic sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, Dmitriev said his country is "actually a good place for U.S. companies to do business."

"Sanctions really didn't undermine [the] Russian economy," he said. "So, if you think about Russian economy, it has 4% [gross domestic product[ growth versus around 1%. GDP growth in Europe. … So, of course, sanctions, we don't agree with them. We believe they are preventing companies and countries from doing well, but Russian economy adjusted to sanctions.

"But we believe with President Trump, with President Putin, there are so many great opportunities we can do jointly and put many of the difficulties behind us."

He said working with the Trump administration has been better than the Biden administration because Joe Biden "didn't at all talk to Russia" as president.

"He tried unsuccessfully to have strategic defeat [of] Russia and failed and then [he] couldn't really move from his talking points of a strategic defeat," Dmitriev said, adding that the Trump administration is "full of very successful people who are focused on problem-solving."

"Secondly, I understand dialogue is important, you cannot not talk to another nuclear power," Dmitriev said. "And thirdly, I think they're very open about how do we find the solution together? And on Ukraine, for example, they're very much pro-Ukraine, and they very much support things that are for Ukraine, making Ukraine stronger.

"But President Trump achieved the first [de-escalation] of Ukrainian conflict by having Russia and Ukraine agree on [an] energy infrastructure ceasefire. So, he is successful, and President Biden wasn't successful, and I think success is what defines President Trump and his team."

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