Russia's envoy Dmitriev meets US officials in Washington over war endgame

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with US officials in Washington on Monday to discuss potential US-Russia energy projects for the period after Russia's war against Ukraine ends, a source in the US administration told the news agency AFP.

According to the official, the talks were constructive and covered both a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and possible joint US-Russia energy initiatives that could follow the end of the war.

Follow-up to earlier meetings

The official noted that Dmitriev's Washington visit follows recent talks that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as well as their meeting with Ukrainian officials in New York last week.

Possible easing of sanctions

The Atlantic magazine reported that US President Donald Trump had backed a proposal under which the US would lift some sanctions on Russia in exchange for the release of several political prisoners. The White House did not comment on the report, but a US official told AFP that Trump remains committed to playing a constructive role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine and is still optimistic that a peace agreement can eventually be reached.