Russia, US and Ukraine are “reasonably close" to reaching a diplomatic settlement to end the war with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said. Russia’s top economic negotiator arrived in the United States on Friday for talks, two days after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two biggest oil companies.

“Arrived in the US to continue the US–Russia dialogue — visit planned a while ago based on an invitation from the US side," Putin’s top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on X.

Dmitriev told Russian news agencies that he would convey Russia’s position on the Ukraine war in meetings with Trump administration officials.

“I believe Russia and the US and Ukraine are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution. It’s a big move by President Zelenskyy to already acknowledge that it’s about battle lines. You know, his previous position was that Russia should leave completely, so actually, I think we are reasonably close to a diplomatic solution that can be worked out," he was quoted as saying by US broadcaster CNN.

In an interview with the broadcaster, he also said that a planned meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump was “not cancelled" but will “probably take place at a later date".

Trump scrapped planned talks with Putin in Budapest, saying he did not want a “wasted" meeting.

“Ukraine, unfortunately, is disrupting the dialogue that is necessary, and is doing so again at the request of the British, at the request of the Europeans, who want the conflict to continue," state agency TASS quoted him as saying.

The former Goldman Sachs banker and Stanford graduate said the latest round of sanctions would backfire on the United States by raising gasoline prices for ordinary Americans.

“The potential for economic cooperation with Russia is still there, but only if Russia’s interests are treated with respect," he said.

The latest US sanctions target Rosneft and Lukoil, two companies that account for more than half of Russia’s oil output.

Source: News18