The New York Times: Trump is considering lifting sanctions on the RDIF, headed by Dmitri...

The New York Times: Trump is considering lifting sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is headed by Dmitriev.

There aren't many details:

▪️Russian representatives are pushing the idea as an addition to the diesel deal, so that payments can be routed through the RDIF, simplifying settlements.

▪️The Trump administration is considering the concession as an incentive for the Kremlin to end the war. A U.S. official confirmed that the administration is considering the RDIF's application to have sanctions lifted.

▪️For now, the U.S. Treasury says that all necessary authorizations for diesel transactions have been issued, and that the RDIF must go through the standard procedure, under which the fund will have to demonstrate that the root causes for imposing the sanctions have been eliminated.

As we all understand, it will be enough for the Trump administration if the RDIF states in its application that lifting sanctions is "in the national interests of the United States." In practice, there are no obstacles to lifting the sanctions.

▪️The Biden administration imposed sanctions on the RDIF in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion.

▪️The RDIF is considered one of Russia's largest instruments of foreign influence. It is somewhat like the American USAID, which was shut down at the beginning of Trump's second term.

Nytimes

Trump Explores Lifting Sanctions on Russia’s Flagship Investment Fund

The move would be the latest U.S. concession to Moscow as President Trump pursues economic incentives he hopes will secure an end to war in Ukraine.