Events

Konstantin Kosachev: A dialogue between Russian MPs and the American Congress is of equal importance to Russia and the US

Members of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs met with a Republican Senator.


Chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev met with Republican Senator Rand Paul. The meeting was attended by First Deputy Chairs of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov and Sergei Kislyak, and Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Lukin.

The American delegation also included a Republican member of the Texas state Senate Don Huffines, and representatives from the Cato Institute.

The sides discussed matters of American-Russian relations and the prospects for bilateral interparliamentary relations.

“Our approaches are different in many respects. However, we appreciate the desire to foster a dialogue which is of equal importance to Russia and the US,” Konstantin Kosachev said. 

Kosachev said it is of particularly great value in a situation where some American representatives try to skew any contact with Russian politicians negatively. “It seems that some forces in the US work to hinder dialogue in any area and on any level so the lack of dialogue can create a favourable environment for their opportunistic initiatives.”

Important topics concerning bilateral Russian-American relations identified by Konstantin Kosachev included strategic stability, arms control, a further decrease of military tension as well as an exchange of opinions dedicated to the situation with today’s flashpoints. 

The Senator noted that sanctions hinder bilateral relations, but do not put an end to them. “The fact that the largest delegation of foreign guests at the recent St Petersburg economic forum was the American delegation proves that there is still interest in the development of bilateral relations.”

Rand Paul said that he was happy to visit Russia. “There is such a word as engagement in the English language. We use this term when we speak about establishing stronger and closer connections with the countries we want to improve our relations with. We are interested in cooperation with Russia, especially its legislative bodies, because we have common issues, common goals.” 

Rand Paul emphasized that the main goal of his visit to Russia was to foster the dialogue between the legislators of the two countries.