Russia says certain countries trying to 'derail' its talks with US

Russia's top economic negotiator said Thursday that certain countries were trying to "derail" Moscow's talks with the United States, as the two sides work towards normalising ties.

President Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy since his return to the White House in January, reaching out directly to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in an attempt to broker a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict.

US and Russian officials have met multiple times since, including on restoring embassy staffing levels after years of diplomatic expulsions, but Trump's efforts to broker a Ukraine truce have so far failed to bear fruit.


"There are a lot of people, structures, countries trying to derail our dialogue with the United States," Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, told reporters.

"There is very active propaganda against Russia in the United States on various mass media. So it is very important to convey the Russian position directly," he added.

Dmitriev did not say which countries he was referring to, but Moscow has redirected much of its criticism over the Ukraine conflict towards Europe since Trump took office, accusing the EU and UK of being the main obstacles to peace.

Dmitriev's comments came moments before French President Emmanuel Macron, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff began a meeting in Paris on crafting a Ukraine ceasefire.