Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation said he believes the United States, Ukraine, and Russia are close to a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine.
"I believe Russia and the US and Ukraine are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution,” Kirill Dmitriev said on CNN on October 24.
Dmitriev's comments come as peace talks appear to be faltering and Russia shows no sign of relenting in its attack on civilians.
Early on October 25, a kindergarten in the Dniprovskiy district was damaged and large blazes broke out in nonresidential areas of the Desnianskiy and Darnytskiy districts. Earlier this week, a kindergarten in Kharkiv was hit by a Russian drone attack.
Moscow denies it is targeting Ukrainian civilians despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Dmitriev confirmed earlier that he is in the United States for a long-planned meeting. He did not say with whom he would be meeting.
US news reports said he would meet Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami on October 25. The Russian state-owned news agency TASS quoted Dmitriev as saying he would also meet other people without naming them.
US President Donald Trump hit Russia's two biggest oil companies with sanctions this week to press Russia to end its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: Russia's Oil Giants Get Sanctioned By The US. Will It Hurt The Kremlin's War On Ukraine? (For Now, No)The US Treasury Department announced on October 22 that it was sanctioning state-controlled Rosneft and privately owned LUKoil , whose exports go a long way toward filling the Kremlin’s coffers.
"These are very big -- against their two big oil companies," Trump said, describing the sanctions as "tremendous.”
A day later, Brussels targeted Rosneft and Gazpromneft, another major oil company that is a subsidiary of state-controlled gas giant Gazprom.
Dmitriev said the sanctions are not such a big issue, telling CNN that Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will never act under pressure and the sanctions will lead to higher gasoline prices in the United States while Russia will just sell less oil at a higher price.
“So I think the real issue is how to continue a dialog how to have a peaceful resolution to the crisis while having realistic solutions rather than put forward unrealistic solutions,” Dmitriev said.
Dmitriev did not explain in detail why he believes a diplomatic solution is close. The public positions of Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on key issues including territory and security guarantees.
SEE ALSO: Trump Says He Put Off Plans To Meet Putin To Avoid 'Wasted Meeting' Though Diplomacy ContinuesPressed about why Putin refuses to agree to a cease-fire and freezing battle lines where they are, Dmitriev said Russia wants not just a cease-fire but a final solution to the conflict. He said a cease-fire can always be broken or used by the warring parties to rearm.
“It’s a big move by President Zelenskyy to already acknowledge that it’s about battle lines,” Dmitriev said. “His previous position was that Russia should leave completely. So actually, I think we are reasonably close to a diplomatic solution that can be worked out.
Kyiv has not dropped its call for a full Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, but along with the US and European backers, it favors a cease-fire that would leave the front lines in place for the time being.
Dmitriev also said that he believes a Trump-Putin summit will happen but "probably at a later date."
Trump spoke to Putin last week and said he planned to meet him in Budapest within the next few weeks, but Trump later canceled the meeting although he said it could take place at another time.
"The Russia–US dialogue will continue, but it is certainly only possible if Russia's interests are taken into account and treated with respect," Dmitriev said.
Asked about Trump's frustrations that while his phone conversations with Putin are productive, Russia nevertheless continues hitting civilian targets, Dmitriev said the Russian military's position is it only hits military targets.
Ukraine endures nearly nightly attacks by Russian drones and missiles that hit apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other major cities far from the front line.
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Firefighters Rescue Kindergarteners In Kharkiv Drone Strike
Asked about an attack this week that hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv, Dmitriev claimed the Russian military is not targeting kindergartens, but that it should be asked about this specific situation.
"I’m not a military guy," he said. "I’m just working to have dialog and make sure that the conflict is ended as soon as possible."