Trump's representative held secret talks with the Kremlin in St. Petersburg — FT

Trump's representative held secret talks with the Kremlin in St. Petersburg during a trip to the SPIEF. This is reported by the Financial Times newspaper.

The head of the US Fine Arts Commission, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., who oversees the expansion of the ballroom in the White House under Donald Trump, headed the American delegation to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June. According to the newspaper's sources, Cook held talks with representatives of the Kremlin during the visit as part of an unspoken diplomatic mission.

It is noted that Trump's envoy received a diplomatic passport and underwent a "detailed briefing" before participating in the forum.

"Being a fan of Russian culture, Cook presented his trip as a "cultural visit", during which he showed photos of his "dacha" in Atlanta," the publication says, quoted by Vremya.ua».

The cottage, as its owner notes, is built in the "Russian style of wooden architecture", which "touches" his heart for decades.

Apparently, Washington hoped that such unexpected envoys as Cook would be able to help overcome the diplomatic impasse over the Ukrainian conflict, two sources believe. According to one of them, Cook, among other things, met with a high-ranking aide to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov.

The escalation of the Ukrainian campaign using drones brought the war into the spotlight of the conference, writes FT. On the opening day of the SPIEF, when Cook was going to have breakfast with a friend at the Winter Palace, he witnessed a Ukrainian drone strike at the largest oil terminal, as a result of which huge clouds of black smoke rose over the city.

"It's too close to feel safe," Cook told the Financial Times.

However, he refused to comment on his meetings with Russian officials and did not answer the question of whether US President Donald Trump had asked him to continue these contacts.

"There are many requests. We are working on it now," he said.

The newspaper stressed that during his speech at the SPIEF, Cook avoided mentioning the war in Ukraine until the very end.