Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the official overseeing Donald Trump’s expansion of the White House ballroom, allegedly held private diplomatic talks with Kremlin officials during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia this summer.
The Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the Russian officials Cook met included Anton Kobyakov, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The report said U.S. officials hoped that unconventional representatives such as Cook could help overcome the diplomatic deadlock in the Ukraine peace talks.
Cook became a keynote speaker at the forum
Cook was the first U.S. official to attend Russia’s annual economic forum since 2017. During Trump’s first presidency, John Tefft, the former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, attended the forum in 2017.
Hundreds of American corporate executives and business representatives attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum before Western countries boycotted it following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Cook was the keynote speaker at this year’s event during a session titled “Russia-U.S.: A Dialogue of Cultures.”
Cook’s ties to Russia also extend to earlier cultural contacts. In 2017, Cook spoke at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and also delivered several lectures in different parts of the country.
The Kremlin’s statement
Kobyakov, who chairs the organizing committee of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, had no previously known role in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The talks have so far been conducted mainly by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Commenting on the Financial Times report, Kremlin Foreign Policy Adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian state media: “Diplomacy is always conducted quietly.”
After returning to office, Donald Trump pledged to mediate an end to the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine. As Washington struggles to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to an agreement, both sides are intensifying airstrikes deep inside each other’s territories.
