Trump official held secret talks with Kremlin to break deadlock over war in Ukraine – FT
Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts, who is overseeing the construction of the controversial White House ballroom initiated by Donald Trump, held talks with Kremlin representatives in Russia in June as part of a "quiet diplomatic mission."
The Financial Times reported this, citing people familiar with the matter, according to Censor.NET.
Who is Cook Jr. and what was he doing in St Petersburg?
Rodney Mims Cook Jr. is chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts. According to the newspaper, he was issued a diplomatic passport and received an extensive briefing before attending Vladimir Putin’s flagship economic forum in St Petersburg in June, where he met Kremlin representatives and received diplomatic protection.
Cook, an admirer of Russian culture, presented his trip as a "cultural visit," during which he showed photographs of his own "dacha" in Atlanta. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June that he knew "nothing" about a delegation to St Petersburg.
According to two of the newspaper’s sources, Washington hopes that "unconventional envoys" such as Cook could help break the diplomatic deadlock over Russia’s war against Ukraine. One of Cook’s interlocutors was Anton Kobyakov, a senior adviser to Putin.
First US official to attend forum since 2018
Cook became the first US official since 2018 to attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, known as "Putin’s Davos." The United States boycotted the event in 2019 over the arrest of a prominent American businessman and later stayed away because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Despite Russia’s efforts to demonstrate that life was continuing as usual, the escalation of Ukrainian drone strikes brought the war to the centre of attention at the conference. On the first day of the forum, Cook witnessed a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian oil refinery on the Neva River while walking through Palace Square.
- Cook declined to tell the FT the details of his meetings with Russian officials, whether Trump had assigned him the mission, or whether he planned to return to Russia soon. He said only that "there are many requests" and that work on the matter was ongoing.
A White House spokesperson said the United States "continues to play a constructive role in negotiations with both sides to end the war" and that Trump was "optimistic" about reaching a peace agreement. At the same time, the official US account is that Cook attended the forum in his capacity as chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts to develop bilateral cultural ties.
Symbolic undertones of the trip
Cook told the FT that he knew Russian culture well and was personally acquainted with most heads of Russia’s cultural institutions. He said the participants in the meeting with senior officials and cultural figures, some of whom are under US sanctions, were "mostly old friends."
During his address at the forum, Cook avoided mentioning the war in Ukraine until the very end, when he said that "there must be peace" to achieve the goals of cultural cooperation.
Meeting with Putin
- The next day, during a question-and-answer session with Putin, Cook conveyed "warm greetings from your friend, President Trump" and said that Washington and Moscow had "many ideas to discuss" in the near future. Putin thanked Cook and said he had "returned the puck" to Trump, after which Cook handed over a hockey puck for the Oval Office. According to him, "the message was delivered."
