President Vladimir Putin on Sunday appointed Kirill Dmitriev, the chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, as a special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation.

His main role, his main task, is what Putin assigned him: to get the Americans to lift sanctions pressure. That’s his job,” Russia’s former deputy foreign minister, told NBC News.

Riyadh in Saudi Arabia hosted the first stage of talks between the delegations of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the restoration of US-Russia relations and the formation of negotiating teams on the Russo-Ukrainian war.

But, from Vladimir Putin’s point of view, he had good reason to be part of it. As the boss of one of Russia’s state-backed investment funds, Mr Dmitriev has been cutting deals for more than a decade.

Ukrainian president also rules out US-Ukraine minerals deal if it meant repaying Washington for military aid already provided under Biden

Senior officials from the U.S. and Russia meet in Saudi Arabia on improving ties and ending the war in Ukraine - but Ukraine isn't invited.

Bloomberg reports that the Kremlin’s negotiating team for upcoming peace talks with the Trump administration will include three “heavyweights” with decades of diplomacy experience. The list will reportedly include chief Kremlin foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov,

Top US and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, without anyone from Kyiv involved, fueling concerns about a rapid push for a deal by the two powers that may leave Europe on the sidelines.