Drew Hinshaw

Not long after, Witkoff's office requested to meet with Dmitriev in Washington.

At first, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant had questions about the unique request.

But the president had told Witkoff he wanted the war to end.

And so the administration decided that it was worth the risk.

What kind of opportunities are we talking about here?

Joe, do you want to take this one?

As Witkoff and Dmitriev continued to meet, business leaders in both the U.S.

and Russia, many of whom had ties to Trump and Putin, were taking note, and they were quietly positioning their companies to profit if a peace deal came through.

Gentry Beach is an investor from Texas.

He was also a groomsman at Donald Trump Jr.

's wedding, and he was a donor to President Trump's campaign.

Beach has been in talks to acquire a stake in a Russian Arctic gas project with a company called Novatek.

In a statement, Beach said that partnering with Novatec would, quote, strongly benefit any company committed to advancing American energy leadership.

Trump Jr.

has told people he isn't doing business with Beach.

There's no evidence that Witkoff or the White House have been briefed on these companies' efforts or that they're coordinating them.

A person familiar with Witkoff's thinking said Witkoff is confident that any settlement with Russia would benefit America broadly, not just a handful of investors.

But this peace through business approach hasn't been an easy sell to America's traditional allies.

That's next.

As spring turned into summer, Dmitriev and Witkow's relationship grew.