For the first time since the start of the full-scale war, Russian State Duma deputies under sanctions arrived in the US for “informal negotiations”
For the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, three Russian lawmakers under sanctions have visited the United States for so-called informal talks with congressmen, in an attempt to “restore American ties.” This was reported by The New York Times and The Hill.
According to the publications, the trip was organized by Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who spoke for “closer relations with the Russian Federation” and is a co-author of the bill on the termination of US military aid to Ukraine. In particular, she personally arranged a private tour of the Capitol for Russian deputies.
Back in January, Luna stated that she had received the “green light” from the US State Department for the arrival of four Russian deputies to discuss “peace negotiations on Ukraine with members of Congress”.
The Russian delegation included Vyacheslav Nikonov, Svetlana Zhurova and Alexander Chernyshov. All three are under US sanctions for supporting the annexation of Crimea and a full-scale war against Ukraine. At the same time, despite these restrictions, the US State Department still allowed them to enter the country.
The delegation was to be led by Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, but he was denied a visa, probably due to numerous accusations of sexual harassment, writes The New York Times.
The press secretary of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that before his trip to the US, he met with the delegation.
“We hope that these first, cautious steps will certainly contribute to the restoration of our bilateral communications, which is in the interests of both Washington and Moscow,” he said Peskov.
As The Hill notes, the congresswoman’s actions have caused a mixed reaction among her fellow Republicans, as well as condemnation from Ukrainian activists and Russian oppositionists “in exile.”
In particular, a member of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Andy Barr, who works there with Luna, stressed that “Russia is an adversary, and it is clear that we – and this administration – support Ukrainian resistance to further Russian invasion of Ukraine,” adding that he would have questions about the true purpose of such a visit.
Republican Joe Wilson, known as a staunch supporter of Ukraine, said that he equated the meeting with the deputies the State Duma to “receive visitors from the Third Reich.”
Derrick van Orden, who previously trained Georgian and Ukrainian special forces to fight Russia, said that “the American side has united in a message of peace.” At the same time, he noted that before making demands on the Russians regarding further steps, it is necessary to establish relations with them.
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Brian Mast, said that he also received an invitation to meet with Russian deputies, but was unable to attend, noting at the same time that “it is always appropriate to talk.”
Commenting on this visit, Luna said that for the first time in almost a quarter of a century, five members of Congress met with deputies of the Russian State Duma to discuss issues of peace and bilateral relations.
“As representatives of the two largest nuclear superpowers in the world, we “We owe it to our citizens to have open dialogue, ideas, and open channels of communication. We will continue to foster that dialogue and strive for peace in support of this administration’s pursuit of peace and economic opportunity,” Luna wrote on Twitter.
