Moscow’s international economic cooperation envoy made overtures to American business ahead of a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
His openness, however, was counterbalanced by a warning from Putin that the Kremlin would not allow firms that left Russia after the outbreak of war to simply slip back into the Russian market.
Kirill Dmitriev, who is also CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), floated the idea of allowing the United States, under a future economic deal, to jointly explore Russia’s large rare earth metal deposits.
The Russian envoy also held the door open for cooperation with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to aid the Kremlin’s space program.
Rare earths and other metals, critical for the tech sector, have garnered worldwide attention since Trump took office and commenced efforts to counter Beijing’s dominance in the area.
The state-owned RDIF is eyeing the development of rare earth deposits in the country and wants to partner with U.S. companies, Dmitriev said Tuesday.
“Russia’s reserves of rare earth metals exceed the amount in Ukraine by several fold, and we are looking at a number of Russian deposits,” Dmitriev told reporters.
“We would like to involve American companies in these projects, there is significant interest, but Russia must also be interested.”
Russia has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of rare earth metals, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data, following China, Brazil, India, and Australia.
USGS estimates Russia’s reserves total 3.8 million metric tons.
Dmitriev also said Russia sees prospects to work with the United States in the space sector, and expects to hold talks with Musk soon about flying to Mars.
He said Moscow wanted to work with the SpaceX CEO as part of the country’s efforts to strengthen and develop Russian space agency Roscosmos and state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom.
“Discussions with Musk will be as early as in the near time. We believe Musk is a unique leader, focusing on the mankind to move forward together,” Dmitriev said at a business forum in Moscow, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.
Warning From Putin
Despite the economic envoy’s overtures, Russia’s president issued a warning Tuesday to Western companies that he said have “slammed the door defiantly” when they left Russia after the Ukraine invasion.They will not be allowed to repurchase businesses at bargain prices or fill niches that local businesses have taken, Putin said.
Hundreds of Western firms exited Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, with companies taking different approaches to their departure.
Some sold out, while others handed the reins to existing managers in the country. A few simply left Russia, abandoning their assets.
Some, such as Renault, McDonald’s, and Henkel agreed on buyback options when leaving, but the terms of those deals are largely unknown.
“I would like to repeat again, we did not expel anyone. Those who left our market made that decision on their own. Whether under pressure from the elites of their countries or not, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he said.
“In any case, we are talking about experienced businessmen who calculated the risks and understood the consequences of their actions.
“If the niches of Western companies are already occupied by Russian businesses, then, as I said before, that ’train has left the station.' There will be no privileges or preferences for those returning.”
He added that “owners [who] sold their business in Russia at a bargain price, essentially left it to its fate” should not be allowed to buy those assets back for “peanuts.”
After the lengthy phone call between Trump and Putin Tuesday, the White House announced that Putin will accept a partial cease-fire covering energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine.
