Putin ready to help bring end to Israel-Iran conflict, Russia's sovereign fund chief says

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is open to playing his part in any US-led regional mediation between Israel and Iran, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday.

“I think it’s very important, the next three to five days will be very decisive,” Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told The National on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“Russia, as President Putin mentioned, is willing to be very helpful in this very important [matter] for the world situation.”

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This message from Mr Dmitriev − who has been at the helm of the state-controlled investment vehicle since its inception in 2011 − comes as the US contemplates joining Israel in strikes on Iran's military and nuclear assets.

The conflict that began last week has roiled energy markets and sent jitters through financial investors, who are closely watching Washington's next move.

US President Donald Trump has said he “may” or “may not” choose to carry out strikes on targets in Iran.

Iran and Russia have deep historical ties, both economic and defensive, but the Kremlin’s relationship with Tehran in recent years has centred mostly around Iranian drone production for the Russian war in Ukraine. The two sides are also regularly engaged in discussions on Opec+ oil output caps.

Impact on oil markets

“If you look at [the crisis] simply economically, we could see significant spike in oil prices, which, you know, may be good in the short term,” Mr Dmitriev said. However, Russia, he added has always been an advocate of stable oil prices, he added.

“Because this is good for investments, for consumers and for producers. So again, we'll see. I think in the past we had experience where Russia, the US and Saudi Arabia jointly acted to stabilise oil prices, we will see if that is needed or not,” he said.

'Trump understands Putin'

Mr Dmitriev is no stranger to Russian diplomatic efforts. Most recently, he attended talks in Riyadh in March, alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Discussions were held with a US team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and the then national security adviser Mike Waltz.

“President Trump … really understands how President Putin thinks, what the options are,” Mr Dmitriev said.

“The direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are the result of President Trump and his team pushing for direct discussions.

“I think also we see some recognition from the Trump administration that US sanctions have been negatively affecting US businesses.”

Sanctions 'not way forward'

With Russia now facing a possible 18th round of economic sanctions from Europe and further US sanctions expected from the Senate in July, Mr Dmitriev said that in the White House, at least, there is a growing understanding that the current financial tools do not work.

“For example, are you really going to have a 500 per cent tariff on one nation if you stabilise tariffs with some of the key nations? Most people don’t think it’s realistic,” Mr Dmitriev said.