Track II Diplomacy. Putin Offers A Sweetheart Deal To All Americans

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Despite increased attempts by the EU and Ukraine to disrupt the Russia-US dialogue, the negotiation process continues. On April 3, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, arrived in Washington. The man dubbed “Putin’s investment kingpin” by the Western media came to promote peace talks between the Kremlin and the White House. The task is by no means easy. The warming relations between the two great powers have many critics.

“These forces are deliberately distorting Russia’s position, trying to derail any steps toward dialogue, and sparing no money or resources to do so. Opponents of rapprochement are afraid that Russia and the United States will find common ground, begin to understand each other better, and build cooperation both in international affairs and in the economy,” Kirill Dmitriev said.

It is hard to overestimate the importance of this trip. It is the first visit of a high-ranking Russian official to the United States since the beginning of the Special military operation on February 24, 2022. For the sake of the visit, the US authorities even “temporarily” lifted sanctions against Kirill Dmitriev. The Kremlin envoy’s task was not only to convey Vladimir Putin’s position directly to the Trump administration, but also to appeal to American public opinion. In the terminology of political scientists, this is called Track II diplomacy.

“Regardless of your politics, the U.S.-Russia dialogue is important. It’s about building a safer, more prosperous world for all,” the RDIF head wrote on his social media page.

And these are not just words. Moscow’s representative did not limit himself to contacts with Donald Trump’s inner circle.

For the first time in a long while, a person who defends the position of Vladimir Putin could speak on CNN. This channel belongs to the so-called mainstream media and promotes the agenda of the US Democratic Party. Kirill Dmitriev also honored the right-wing Republican TV channel FoxNews and took part in a meeting with US senators.

In particular, the meeting was attended by Lindsey Graham, a hawk and ardent supporter of Ukraine. In 2022, he publicly called for Vladimir Putin to be “taken out”, and in 2023 in Kiev he speculated about America’s “profitable investment in the death of Russians.” Russia has officially put Mr. Graham on a list of terrorists and extremists. However, Dmitriev did not exclude this man from the dialogue.

First of all, the senator’s positions on the Ukrainian issue are very flexible. After the scandal in the Oval Office, he demanded an apology from Vladimir Zelensky for insulting Donald Trump and the entire American people. Second, Graham represents the Republican Party and supports the current course of the president. Third, he is the head of the Senate Budget Committee since January 3, 2025. Kirill Dmitriev came to Washington to offer America favorable economic cooperation. And while earlier such initiatives from Moscow would not have looked so attractive, today the United States itself needs a mutually beneficial partnership. This is especially relevant against the backdrop of a tariff war with the whole world.

Donald Trump does not hide the fact that the introduction of high tariffs on imports will lead to serious temporary difficulties. But this is the price of carrying out a real economic revolution. The President of the United States needs Russia to help him through this difficult period in America’s recent history. There are about 150 million people living in Russia. Including the entire expanse of the Eurasian Economic Union, we could be talking about a huge market of about 190 million people. Trade between the United States and Russia has always been small. After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the trade turnover decreased to minimal values. However, in 2024 the volume of mutual trade amounted to 3.5 billion dollars. In 2013 the trade turnover amounted to 38.2 billion dollars. This is the threshold that Russians and Americans can reach within 12 months if sanctions are lifted.

America desperately needs Russian natural resources. In addition, the joint development of rare earth deposits in Russia is highly relevant for the United States in order to avoid dependence on China. American manufacturers need a market for their products. The Russian Federation is experiencing a shortage of high-tech products after the introduction of large-scale sanctions in 2014 and 2022. Neither China nor Europe is ready to consume large quantities of American high-tech products for a variety of reasons. Politics and competition from local manufacturers both play a role. The future reindustrialization of the United States is inseparable from the Russian market. Similarly, the industrialization of the Soviet Union could not be separated from U.S. investment.

The European Union has no intention of normalizing relations with Russia. This gives America a number of unique advantages in a variety of areas. There is no competition with European products. There is competition with Chinese products, but the penetration of American companies in Russia will inevitably displace China from the first place. Large profits can be made even in such specific case as air transport. Moscow has closed its airspace to airlines from the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia and several other countries since 2022. European airlines lose up to $3 billion a year because they have to fly around Russian territory. Their niche may well be filled by American carriers.

Optimism is encouraged by the fact that the Donald Trump administration, unlike Joseph Biden, knows how to speak the language of pragmatism, not ideology. The White House is willing to co-operate with Russia. “Trump does not receive a Kremlin manual in the morning and does not decide which of the pages of this manual I need to work on today. At the same time, he is surrounded by people and he himself believes that realistically he and Russia can do a lot of good things, and he needs Russia. He doesn’t need Ukraine, that’s all, that’s his view of the world,” former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said with disappointment. And this disappointment of the supporter of the war to the last Ukrainian cannot help but please.

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