Russian lawmakers conclude first meeting with members of US Congress

MOSCOW: The first meeting between Russian lawmakers and members of the US Congress is over, Vyacheslav Nikonov, first deputy chairman of the...

MOSCOW: The first meeting between Russian lawmakers and members of the US Congress is over, Vyacheslav Nikonov, first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Committee on International Affairs, said.

"We have held the first meeting with Congress members. So far, it’s going better than I expected. It’s possible to restore interparliamentary contact. We are carrying on with our program," Nikonov wrote on Telegram.

Efforts to work out a meeting between members of the Russian State Duma and the US Congress kicked off in October 2025 following consultations between Kirill Dmitriev, Russian special presidential envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, and US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna.

Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told TASS earlier that the five-member delegation particularly included his first deputies Vyacheslav Nikonov and Svetlana Zhurova, as well as Duma Deputy Speaker Boris Chernyshov. The Russian lawmakers’ goal is to resume dialogue. According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, they received instructions from the president before departing for the US.

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