From Semafor, February 24:
Analysis: Moscow’s Gulf dealmaker is trying to restore Russia’s economy
If there was any doubt that Russia is preparing to re-enter the global economy, the Kremlin just erased it.
Kirill Dmitriev, the longtime CEO of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been named Special Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries — a role that underscores Moscow’s push to restore economic ties. The appointment also suggests that both Moscow and Washington view Russia’s reintegration, politically and economically, as inevitable. Just last week, Dmitriev met with Trump administration officials in Riyadh for their first round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
For Gulf leaders, Dmitriev is a familiar face. Before the war in Ukraine, it was common to see him at Zuma in Abu Dhabi or hosting Russian cultural events in Riyadh. He is also well known to the Trump administration. At a Future Investment Initiative event in Miami last week, Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff credited Dmitriev’s role in securing the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel from Russian detention, calling it a “show of good faith” from Vladimir Putin — one that helped kickstart US-Russia talks.
Dmitriev was tasked with reaching out to Washington, through Saudi intermediaries. When Jared Kushner — who was interviewing Witkoff in Miami — asked what made the current envoy confident enough to go to Moscow and pursue Fogel’s release without a prearranged deal, Witkoff said: The Saudis “assured us that this was real. That there was real validity to Kirill and what he was saying could happen.”....
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