Russian presidential envoy and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev arrived in Washington on November 5 for meetings with members of the US administration. He also planned to attend a White House event involving first lady Melania Trump. It is the first in-person contact between Russian and US officials since the US midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both houses of Congress.
The White House meeting was linked to humanitarian issues arising from Russia's war against Ukraine, including a recent operation to evacuate civilians from Russian-occupied Oleshky. A Le Monde report named Dmitriev and Russian State Duma member Yana Lantratova among the expected Russian participants. Ukraine was expected to be represented by human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia.
Separate talks involving representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine on efforts to end the war were planned for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi.