The administration of President Donald Trump is considering lifting sanctions on Russia's flagship state investment fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), The New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the negotiations. Russian officials have pressed for the sanctions to be removed as part of broader talks about the fund's involvement in shipping Russian diesel fuel to the United States.
Source: The New York Times via European Pravda / EUalive
A US official confirmed that the administration is assessing the fund's application for sanctions relief through established procedures, as part of efforts to improve US-Russia relations and help end the war, and praised the fund's chief, Kirill Dmitriev, as a helpful envoy to US negotiators. The Atlantic Council, in an analysis published this week, likewise reported that the administration has confirmed it is reviewing Moscow's request, with Dmitriev promoting RDIF as a channel to process transactions for the diesel shipments.
Source: Atlantic Council
Why the diesel deal runs into the sanctions wall
On 9 October the administration issued a sanctions waiver, known as General License 135, authorising transactions related to the sale, delivery and importation of Russian-origin diesel fuel through 7 April 2027, the Atlantic Council said. Three tankers have sailed this month, according to Russian officials. But the waiver does not lift the restrictions on RDIF itself, which is why Moscow wants the fund's status changed so it can handle the financial side of the shipments. Dmitriev said on 16 October that the US Treasury had approached the fund to help organise payments relating to the diesel deal — a claim attributed to Dmitriev himself.
The Atlantic Council noted the waiver's legality has been questioned because of its tension with the 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, which bans imports of Russian energy products and sets strict conditions — including a Ukraine-accepted withdrawal agreement — before that ban can in principle be lifted.
From 'slush fund' to negotiating channel
The Biden administration sanctioned RDIF just days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as Putin's 'slush fund' and a symbol of broader kleptocracy, European Pravda reported from the Times account. Removing sanctions on the multibillion-dollar fund would mark a significant reversal of years of US economic pressure over the war. Yaani: the same fund Washington moved first to cut off in 2022 is now being discussed as a payments channel for Russian fuel entering the US.
Critics argue the diesel deal and further relief reward Moscow without securing an end to the fighting, while Russia continues missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Supporters in the administration present the business incentives as a route to a settlement. No final decision on lifting the RDIF sanctions has been made, and the review is continuing through what the US official called established procedures.