The head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund announced Tuesday that he plans to meet with billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk “soon.”
“There will certainly be discussions with Musk soon,” Kirill Dmitriev said during the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, a major business lobby. “We believe he is a unique leader committed to advancing humanity as a whole.”
Dmitriev said he had discussed potential U.S.-Russian cooperation on Mars exploration with the head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos.
“Our vision for cooperation with Musk goes beyond just Mars — it’s about leveraging the strong expertise within Roscosmos and [Russia’s nuclear agency] Rosatom, which could contribute to making a Mars mission more efficient and safer,” he said. “I believe this dialogue will continue.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Musk, who also serves as a senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, had not publicly commented on any potential talks with Russian officials.
Last month, Dmitriev took part in the first high-level talks between Russian and U.S. officials since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has since hinted at renewed U.S.-Russian business cooperation, including in Arctic and energy projects.
President Vladimir Putin later appointed Dmitriev as his special envoy for international economic and investment cooperation, giving him a formal role in Russia’s negotiating team.
Dmitriev’s remarks came just hours before a highly anticipated phone call between Putin and Trump on a U.S.-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine.
“We appreciate his constructive focus and view him as one of the greatest leaders of our time,” Dmitriev said of Musk on Tuesday.
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