Kirill Dmitriev wrote on Elon Musk’s X platform for the first time since 2012 this week to declare US-Russia cooperation was “key to address world challenges.” Then he posted a video graphic depicting a joint mission to Mars with the US and Saudi Arabia on what appears to be one of Musk’s SpaceX rockets.

As U.S. and Russian negotiators work to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, Kirill Dmitriev will be trying his best to secure the best deal for Vladimir Putin.

But, from Vladimir Putin’s point of view, he had good reason to be part of it. As the boss of one of Russia’s state-backed investment funds, Mr Dmitriev has been cutting deals for more than a decade.

Riyadh in Saudi Arabia hosted the first stage of talks between the delegations of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the restoration of US-Russia relations and the formation of negotiating teams on the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Russia’s newest envoy has made his opening gambit: offer up the prospect of lucrative business deals to Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

Among the veteran diplomats and national security advisers gathering for top-level talks between the U.S. and Russia, Harvard-educated Kirill Dmitriev cut a distinct figure this week. As Moscow seeks to match the Washington team’s dealmaking lineup,