President Vladimir Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev has described the US-based billionaire as a "unique leader" focused on moving humanity forward

Russian sovereign wealth fund head Kirill Dmitriev has announced plans to talk to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, about collaborative opportunities in the space sector.

In a statement to RIA on Tuesday, Dmitriev, who is President Vladimir Putin's special representative for international economic and investment cooperation, said he envisions broader cooperation with Musk, emphasizing the robust capabilities of national organizations like Roscosmos and Rosatom.

"I think that there will certainly be discussions with Musk in the near future, and we believe that Musk is a unique leader who is focused on humanity moving forward together," Dmitriev told reporters, praising the billionaire's focus on the need to "move forward creatively."

Earlier this month, Dmitriev also proposed that Musk launch a joint US-Russia Mars exploration mission in 2029, saying on X that "our minds and technologies should serve the glory of humanity, not its destruction."

In his remarks on Tuesday, however, Dmitriev stressed that the idea of working together with Musk extends beyond Mars, and is about leveraging the "strong competencies of both Roscosmos and Rosatom" to make space missions more efficient and safe.

Musk has previously outlined ambitious plans for Mars, aiming to launch a mission as early as 2026. The SpaceX founder says one of the company's Starship spacecraft will blast off for Mars next year carrying a Tesla humanoid robot called Optimus. Musk has also suggested that human landings on Mars could begin as early as 2029.

Dmitriev's comments on future collaboration with Musk come amid improving US-Russia relations. Following high-level talks in Saudi Arabia last month, where Dmitriev was part of the Russian delegation, both sides agreed to begin work on restoring diplomatic ties and discuss potential future economic and scientific collaboration in various sectors, including space exploration.