Trump administration in talks to lift sanctions on Russian sovereign wealth fund

US and Russian officials are discussing the possible lifting of American sanctions on Russia's Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Ushakov said the talks had been "going on for some time" but added: "What the outcome will be, I do not know." He said fund CEO and presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev was actively engaging American officials on removing the sanctions.

The Biden administration imposed the sanctions following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, describing the fund as a "known slush fund" for President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle. The New York Times first reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration was considering lifting them.

The potential move is part of a broader pattern of US concessions to Moscow. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a deal to allow Russian diesel exports to global energy markets and waived a further slate of sanctions on Russian fossil fuel sales, including legislation that would have imposed tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas. The US-Russia diesel deal suspends fuel export sanctions for six months to allow diesel sales at market prices.

Trump has said his decision to waive some Russia sanctions was to keep Moscow at the negotiating table. The White House is also seeking to ease pressure on oil and diesel prices. European allies and members of both parties in Washington have criticised the concessions.