Russia voices optimism after meeting with Trump's team

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What you need to know:

• Kirill Dmitriev met with key members of Trump's administration in Washington, emphasizing the USA's openness to dialogue with Russia.
• The talks involved rebuilding Russian-American relations and resuming direct flights between the countries, which have been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Dmitriev mentioned the necessity of further discussions regarding cooperation in the Arctic and the rare earth metals sector, which has been previously signaled in contacts with Trump's circle.

He did not specify exactly who he met with; unofficially, it is said that Dmitriev spoke with Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

— We see absolutely clearly that the president’s administration is intent on solving questions, unlike President Biden. They conduct themselves with great respect, ask a lot of questions, find compromises, — Dmitriev told journalists.

According to his account, one of the main topics of the discussions was rebuilding Russian-American relations.

— President Trump's administration is committed to resolving a full range of issues in Russian-American relations. They undoubtedly have the will to address geopolitical issues and hear Russia's stance on many matters — added the head of the RDIF.

Dmitriev also mentioned the possibility of resuming direct flights between Russia and the USA, which were suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been reinstated after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitriev stated that there is "active work on restoring air travel, and we hope to make progress on this issue."

The talks also covered cooperation in the Arctic and the rare earth metals sector, which had been previously signaled during the Kremlin's contacts with Trump's circle.

— Of course, there are disagreements on various points, but there is a process, there is a dialogue, which in our understanding will help to overcome these disagreements, — Dmitriev emphasised.

Kirill Dmitriev is the highest-ranking Russian official to visit Washington since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The White House has not yet commented on the outcomes of the discussions.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Russia still hopes that Donald Trump will lead to the conclusion of an acceptable peace agreement regarding Ukraine. At the same time, it is ready to continue military actions if the talks fail.

According to agency interlocutors, the Kremlin is not concerned about Trump's threat to impose secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil in the absence of progress in ceasefire talks.

Trump's advisors, including Steve Witkoff, also expressed optimism about progress in contacts with Russia. At the same time, no specific steps have been recorded recently towards a political solution to the conflict.

"The White House’s aim was for a truce agreement by April 20, a goal that now seems unlikely, and talk of a possible summit soon between Trump and Putin has faded recently," wrote Bloomberg.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the agency that Russia "would prefer to continue mutual efforts toward an agreement."

— Everyone would prefer not to fight, but to talk, and not only to talk but to be heard, this is what we have with the current American administration — said Peskov.

Bloomberg reminds that despite Russia's progress on the front and superiority in troop numbers and armament, Western analysts point to the enormous losses suffered by the Russian army.