OMM Newsroom
The Trump administration is considering lifting sanctions on Russia’s state-backed investment fund as part of broader discussions involving Russian diesel shipments to the US, Anadolu Agency reported, citing The New York Times.
Russian officials have urged Washington to remove sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has played a key role in arranging the fuel shipments, the newspaper reported.
A US official said the fund’s application was being reviewed under established procedures. The official described the review as part of efforts to “improve US-Russia relations and help end the war.”
The official also called Kirill Dmitriev, the fund’s head and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for international economic cooperation, “a helpful envoy” to US negotiators working to end the war in Ukraine.
The administration of former US President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on the fund days after Russia launched its war in Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as “a slush fund” for Putin.
According to the report, the fund has taken a leading role in arranging Russian diesel shipments to the US since US President Donald Trump suspended sanctions on Russian diesel earlier this month.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that three tankers carrying Russian diesel had set sail for the US this month with “the significant support” of Dmitriev’s fund.
People familiar with the talks told the newspaper that US buyers had not yet paid for the shipments. The Treasury Department has said the measure suspending sanctions already authorised transactions involving Russian diesel.
The fund’s separate request for sanctions relief is being assessed through the department’s normal review process, the report said.
