Kirill Dmitriev, who represents the Russian President, travelled beyond just the United States. During a press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned that they talked about potentially unfreezing Russia’s assets.
He observed that Russia aims for the removal of sanctions, particularly those from Europe, since its economy significantly relies on these limitations. Nonetheless, Europe remains unwilling to make this move.
Zelenskyy thinks that the United States will not ease the sanctions on Russia; instead, they will likely increase the limitations.
"The ongoing daily strikes demonstrate that stringent punitive actions against Putin are essential. This will compel them to cease hostilities, at minimum putting an end to the current aggressive stage of this conflict — initiating a truce," he noted.
The president additionally mentioned that Ukraine understands the motives behind the visit of Kremlin representative Kirill Dmitriev to Washington.
"Not only was he present in the U.S., but we're also tracking the activities of our adversaries. The primary concern at hand is figuring out how to unlock $300 billion worth of frozen assets. It appears that they are proposing for some nations to acquire an array of items, such as advanced technology, using this sum if those leaders assist in moving these funds overseas. Discussions include topics related to airplane manufacturing and other issues," he stated.
Nevertheless, as Zelenskyy highlighted, Russian assets continue to be frozen in Europe, and there are no plans for Europe to unfreeze them.
The president further stated that Russia is "roaming" between various nations with its mineral agreement.
Dmitriev visited Washington
On April 3, Kirill Dmitriev traveled to Washington, D.C., where he engaged in discussions with multiple U.S. officials. Notably, he had a meeting with U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
Following the talks, he stated that Russia and the United States might be considering restarting air services between them along with exploring potential collaboration in the Arctic region and on rare earth minerals.
As political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko pointed out in an interview with the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel, Dmitriev's trip to the United States holds considerable importance.