US Mulls Easing Sanctions on Russian Fund as 3 Diesel Tankers Sail

(MENAFN) The Trump administration is weighing whether to lift sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Moscow’s state-backed sovereign wealth vehicle, as part of wider talks over Russian diesel exports to the United States, a major US newspaper reported Tuesday.

Russian officials have lobbied Washington to drop the restrictions on the fund, which has been central to organizing the fuel shipments, the newspaper said.

A US official confirmed the fund’s application is under review through standard procedures. The official said the step was part of efforts to “improve US-Russia relations and help end the war.”

The official also characterized Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the fund and serves as President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for international economic cooperation, as “a helpful envoy” to American negotiators seeking to end the war in Ukraine.

The administration of former President Joe Biden sanctioned the fund just days after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, labeling it “a slush fund” for Putin.

According to the report, the fund has taken the lead in arranging diesel deliveries to the US since Trump suspended sanctions on Russian diesel earlier this month.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that three tankers loaded with Russian diesel had left for the US this month with “the significant support” of Dmitriev’s fund.

Yet people familiar with the negotiations told the newspaper that American buyers have not paid for the cargoes so far.

The Treasury Department has held that the suspension already supplies the authorization needed for transactions involving Russian diesel, the report said. The fund’s separate request for sanctions relief is moving through the department’s regular review process.

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