Russia's Mars mission talks: Potential meeting with Musk ahead
Kirill Dmitriev, an advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin on business matters, announced on Tuesday that Russian representatives and Elon Musk may soon meet. The discussion will focus on potential cooperation for Mars missions, with Russia's involvement.
Russian media reported that Dmitriev recently met with Roscosmos's new head, Dmitry Bakanov, to discuss possible cooperation with the United States in the space sector.
In February, Putin appointed Dmitriev as a special representative for investment cooperation with foreign countries. His role is to establish connections with international investors who are interested in entering or returning to the Russian market if the sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine are lifted.
On Tuesday, Putin emphasized that Russia does not plan to make it easy for Western companies to return to its market. He instructed the government to monitor Western companies with contract clauses allowing them to buy back their shares, which could lead to independence from Russian shareholders. Each case is to be thoroughly analyzed.
Russia seeks cooperation with the United States on rare earth metals
Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), told journalists that Russia is interested in collaborating with American companies to extract rare earth metals. He emphasized that Russia possesses significantly more of these resources than Ukraine.
Reuters noted that Russia has some of the world's largest rare earth metal reserves, ranking fifth according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The largest reserves are in China, Brazil, India, and Australia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is negotiating with the United States about an agreement regarding the extraction of mineral resources on its territory. Kyiv has expressed readiness to sign the deal, but Washington has not yet confirmed its decision.
Dmitriev, 49, is one of Putin's closest collaborators and is viewed by analysts as a potential successor to the president. He completed his studies in the United States, earning a degree in economics from Stanford University, and then continued his education at the prestigious Harvard Business School.
Born in Kyiv, Dmitriev, now associated with the Kremlin, has worked with American and French companies during his financial career.
