Russian lawmakers are in the United States to help “revive” relations between Moscow and Washington, the Kremlin said on Thursday, a first in several years.
The Russian delegation is scheduled to meet with American officials in Washington this week, according to Russian media.
“We hope that these initial cautious steps will, of course, contribute to the continuation of the revival of our bilateral cooperation,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian presidency, during his daily briefing in response to a question from AFP.
It had been several years since Russian deputies had visited the United States for an official visit. And, since 2022, many Russian officials have been under American sanctions.
This comes as talks led by Washington to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine are at a standstill.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House just over a year ago, several negotiation cycles have failed to break the deadlock, with the Kremlin ruling out any compromise that could end its ongoing offensive since February 2022.
Leonid Slutsky, leader of the liberal-democratic party (LDPR), a party that on paper constitutes the parliamentary opposition but in reality supports Vladimir Putin, designated three members of the Russian delegation: Boris Chernykhov, vice-president of the Parliament, and deputies Vyacheslav Nikonov and Svetlana Jurova.
All Russian lawmakers, members of Parliament that routinely endorse decisions, are loyal to the Kremlin and support the war in Ukraine.
Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian president had defined the “main directions” of this visit and would be “informed in detail” after their meetings in the United States.
