LONDON, August 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has dispatched Rodney Mims Cook Jr. as the head of the US delegation at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) this year to improve dialogue with the Kremlin as part of "a quiet diplomatic mission," the Financial Times (FT) reported.

According to the newspaper, Cook Jr. officially attended the forum in St. Petersburg as chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts with the aim of further strengthening bilateral cultural ties. However, the trip to Russia "carried heavy symbolism for the prospect of reviving diplomacy." The US administration hoped that such envoys could help "break the diplomatic deadlock" over the Ukraine conflict, the FT sources noted.

Cook Jr. was appointed to the Commission of Fine Arts at the end of Trump’s first term. Under the Joe Biden administration, the commission’s composition was altered, with political appointees of the previous US leader joining. However, Cook Jr. was reappointed after Trump’s return to the White House.

A US delegation attended SPIEF this year for the first time in several years. However, Cook Jr. had previously visited Russia. He lectured on architecture at the Kremlin Armory, Yasnaya Polyana, and the Arkhangelskoye estate, and participated in the restoration of the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery as an independent expert.