Dmitriev meets Witkoff and Kushner in Russian Olympic team jacket

US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner flew into Moscow in the middle of a snowstorm and were given two blue down jackets with the Russian national team logo as a gift, TASS reported, citing its source. They came for talks with Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, after which they are due to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Dublin.

The jacket that caught Witkoff's eye

According to TASS, after landing Witkoff showed interest in the jacket of the Russian national team worn by Kirill Dmitriev, special representative and chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). He met Witkoff and Kushner, the son-in-law of the US president. Published footage does show that Dmitriev's clothing drew Witkoff's attention.

The collection is called “Golden Heritage” and was created by the Russian brand Bosco, founded by the oligarch Mikhail Kusnirovich. The company dressed the Russian Olympic team from 2002 to 2017, and this year, after a pause, it renewed its partnership with the Russian Olympic Committee for two more Olympic cycles.

The 2028 Olympics and earlier episodes

This year the International Olympic Committee decided that Russian athletes may take part in qualifiers and in team sports. However, it has not yet allowed them to compete under their own flag and anthem.

The next Summer Olympics will be held in 2028 in Los Angeles. “We are preparing the design of the summer 2028 collection not just in case it works out, but to actually take part in the Games,” Kusnirovich said this year, referring to the possible return of athletes to the Olympics under the Russian flag.

This is not the first time Russians have drawn attention with their attire before talks with Americans. Last year, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov caused a stir when he arrived at the venue of the meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in a sweatshirt reading CCCP, the Cyrillic abbreviation of the Soviet Union.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz