Dmitriev, 49, the chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund since 2011, was appointed in February as Putin's special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation. WHY IS HE IMPORTANT?

Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev met U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday in St. Petersburg, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

Kirill Dmitriev has been called everything from one of Russia’s most prominent investment figures and President Vladimir Putin’s personal envoy to even a “shadow foreign minister.” The head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund has recently stepped into the spotlight as a key negotiator in Ukraine peace talks and an increasingly visible player on the