Trump administration reviews request to lift sanctions on Russian wealth fund RDIF

Left · 2The New York Times reported on Tuesday 27 October that President Donald Trump's administration is considering lifting sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), citing sources familiar with talks between Russia and the United States. 1 2 Left · 1Russia is pressing for relief so the fund can take part in supplying Russian diesel fuel to the United States, the sources said. 1 Left · 1One source said the Treasury Department is reviewing the application under its standard procedures, and RDIF must prove that the reasons it was sanctioned no longer apply. 1

Left · 1A US official confirmed to the Times that the administration is assessing the application through established channels as part of an effort to "improve U.S.-Russia relations and help end the war," and called RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev "a helpful envoy." 2 Left · 1According to Raw Story's account of the Times report, Trump suspended sanctions on Russian diesel on 9 October, the fund has since helped line up the first shipments, according to a senior Russian official, and three tankers have set out for the US this month, with the diesel shipped before any American buyer paid for it. 2 Left · 1RDIF was established in 2011 to attract foreign investment to Russia; its best-known project was the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. It is headed by Dmitriev, a key participant in the US-Russia talks who is leading the Kremlin's push for joint business ventures. 1

Left · 1President Joe Biden's administration sanctioned RDIF on 28 February 2022, four days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine; the Treasury Department said then that the fund was "widely considered a slush fund for President Vladimir Putin." 1 Left · 1Dmitriev said nothing about seeking relief at a Moscow conference on 16 October, and instead said the diesel deal was helping convince Americans that sanctions are "philosophically wrong." Special envoy Steve Witkoff told Putin in St. Petersburg last week, "It's been really, really good dealing with Kirill." 2 Left · 1Eric Green, who oversaw Russia policy on the Biden White House's National Security Council, told the Times that lifting the penalties would send a "real strong message" that Washington is backing away from keeping economic pressure on until a settlement in Ukraine. Critics, including some Republican lawmakers, say Trump is giving Putin economic perks while asking nothing in return; Trump has kept nearly all Biden-era Russia sanctions in place. 2

Left · 1Dmitriev and his wife, Natalya Popova, are believed to be close to Putin's younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova. No decision has been reported. 1