The U.S. called it Putin’s ‘slush fund.’ Now Trump may drop sanctions on it.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (left), U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner (center), and Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev leave a restaurant in central Moscow on Sept. 5. | REUTERS

Oct 29, 2026

WASHINGTON – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is exploring a new concession to Russia: lifting sanctions on the country’s flagship government investment fund, long viewed by U.S. officials as one of the Kremlin’s most powerful tools of international influence.

Russian officials have pushed for the move as part of broader talks about the fund’s involvement in shipping Russian diesel fuel to the United States, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

A U.S. official confirmed that the administration was assessing the fund’s application for sanctions to be removed through established procedures as part of an effort to “improve U.S.-Russia relations and help end the war.” The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, praised the fund’s chief, Kirill Dmitriev, as “a helpful envoy” to U.S. negotiators in discussions to end the conflict.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information,
quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

SUBSCRIBE NOW