‘Trusted people’ Russia may swap out its negotiators if Kyiv is invited to join talks with the United States, Meduza’s sources say
Russia and the United States have just completed a round of official talks for the first time since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday focused on “normalizing relations” and charting a path toward ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, though neither Ukrainian nor European officials were invited to attend. According to Meduza’s sources, the Kremlin may shake up its delegation if Kyiv joins future talks. Special correspondents Andrey Pertsev and Svetlana Reiter report on who might stay and who could go.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led Russia’s delegation in Riyadh. His retinue included Vladimir Putin’s aide and foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the U.S. delegation, which included National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, Systema, also identified two other Russian officials present during the talks: Vladimir Proskuryakov, from the Foreign Ministry’s North America department, and Dmitry Balakin, an employee of the presidential administration. Systema initially identified Proskuryakov and Balakin by their previous roles, prompting speculation that Proskuryakov was included in the delegation because of his expertise in Arctic affairs. (Ahead of the talks in Riyadh, RDIF Head Kirill Dmitriev mentioned the Arctic as a potential area for “joint projects” in comments to journalists. But whether U.S. and Russian officials ultimately discussed the region during the negotiations remains unclear.)
A source close to the Kremlin told Meduza that “the Americans were the first to assemble a delegation,” while officials in Moscow tried to “line up relevant” contacts “for them.” Another source close to the government said that the preparations on the Russian side seemed like “a mess.” “For instance, Kirill Dmitriev entered the picture largely as a response to U.S. demands to give them someone they understand: they referred to him by name. Lavrov isn’t taken seriously there, but according to his status, he should be present,” the source claimed.
As Meduza previously reported, Dmitriev met with UAE officials and a group of American businessmen in the Seychelles shortly after Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. Among them was Erik Prince, founder of the private military company Blackwater and brother of Betsy DeVos, whom Trump later appointed secretary of education. Around the same time, Dmitriev met with White House advisor Anthony Scaramucci.
The source close to the Russian government also said that Dmitriev maintains “connections” to Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, and that “he knows how to communicate with the Saudis.” According to him, the RDIF head “was in the right place at the right time.”
“Specific people are being picked for specific tasks,” Meduza’s source close to the Kremlin explained, noting that Russia’s current Security Council Secretary and ex-Defense Minister, Sergey Shoigu, was excluded from the delegation. “In theory, Shoigu should’ve been there, but Putin doesn’t like him nowadays, so he wasn’t included — and quite demonstratively,” he said.
Meduza’s source close to the government corroborated this claim. “Shoigu isn’t in the president’s good graces right now, and in such negotiations, you need trusted people,” he said. “Sergey Shoigu is closely tied to relations with China, and in a dialogue with the U.S., this is a minus,” this source added.
That said, the members of the Russian delegation may change depending on the future course of the negotiations, sources told Meduza. Namely, if Ukrainian officials are involved in the talks.
If a “separate Ukrainian track” emerges, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky could join the negotiations, the source close to the Kremlin said, explaining that Putin “would like to build on” the Istanbul communiqué that Medinsky helped negotiate in the spring of 2022. “If representatives of Ukraine enter the picture, so will Medinsky,” said a source close to the presidential administration. (According to this person, Medinsky isn’t needed in the talks as of yet, because “negotiations are being held specifically with the United States, and Medinsky has nothing to do with America.”)
According to Meduza’s source close to the Kremlin, one name that hasn’t come up in the context of future negotiations is that of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who also took part in the 2022 peace talks and has been involved in negotiating prisoner swaps. “He’s recently been involved with [prisoner] exchanges, children — humanitarian work. He thought it would be a sin not to help if [he has] the contacts. Whether he’ll appear in a new configuration depends on a lot of things,” Meduza’s source said. “If negotiations with Ukraine start, he may help.”
Story by Andrey Pertsev and Svetlana Reiter