Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev is expected to visit Washington this week to meet with top Trump official Steve Witkoff for talks on strengthening relations between the two countries as they seek to end the war in Ukraine, according to a US official and two sources familiar with the plans, writes CNN.

"His visit will mark the first time a senior Russian official has visited Washington, DC, for talks since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and marks a further step in the marked warming in relations between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to office in January.

Dmitriev is a close adviser to Putin and traveled with top Russian officials to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in February to start discussing a settlement for the end of the war in Ukraine. He also worked with Witkoff to free American teacher Marc Fogel from Russia, which the Trump administration hailed as a goodwill gesture.

The US government temporarily lifted sanctions against Dmitriev to allow the State Department to grant him a visa to come to the US, one of the sources familiar said. Another source said that there had been a request made to the Treasury Department for a temporary suspension of the sanctions.

A State Department spokesperson told CNN that "visa records are confidential under US law," so they "cannot comment on individual visa cases". CNN has reached out to the White House. A Treasury Department spokesperson declined CNN’s request for comment".