Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachyov meets with US Senator Michael Lee.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachyov has met with US Senator Michael Lee.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov also attended.
The parties discussed a wide range of topics of mutual interest.
Konstantin Kosachyov emphasised that Russia is committed to maintaining an inter-parliamentary dialogue with the United States, and advocates lifting the sanctions for parliamentarians. “We are always happy to accept an invitation to meet. The inter-parliamentary dialogue between Russia and the United States should always be maintained and continued through any, even the most difficult circumstances in our bilateral relations,” he said.
The senator added that contact between the US Senate and the Federation Council, between the parliaments of the two countries, are limited and sporadic now. “This is not our choice; we never agreed with the political sanctions that the United States extended to parliamentarians as well,” he said.
He once again outlined Russia’s stance – we propose lifting, on a reciprocal basis, the sanctions against the parliamentarians of both countries. “Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the practice of sanctions against parliamentarians altogether; our immediate task is to reach an agreement to mutually remove members of parliament paying official visits from sanctions lists,” the senator said.
Konstantin Kosachyov reminded his visitor of the recent 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. At that time, cooperation between the Soviet Union and the United States in the fight against a common enemy made it possible to unite the countries that had very different positions on a variety of issues. “The former Soviet Union and the United States were much more divided than modern Russia and the United States. Today we have many common challenges and threats,” the legislator noted.
The major threats to the modern world are international terrorism, WMD proliferation, food security and cybersecurity issues. “There are many problems on which we can and must cooperate,” he added.
Michael Lee emphasised that they had an honest and open dialogue during the meeting, which should definitely benefit both countries.
Following the meeting, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to continued inter-parliamentary dialogue.