US Congress Delegation to Meet with Russian Foreign Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The US Congress delegation will hold meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Chairman of the Federation Council Committee for Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev on Tuesday.
The senators themselves expect additional points on their agenda. Head of the delegation, senator from Alabama Richard Shelby earlier stated that he hopes to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. However, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there is no such a meeting in Putin’s schedule.
The US Congress delegation started its visit to Russia on Saturday with visiting St. Petersburg and on Monday they met with St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko. Tuesday is to become the main working day of their visit, and on Wednesday, ahead of the departure, they will celebrate Independence Day in the American embassy, TASS news agency reported.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier on Monday that there will be a meeting between the Congress delegation and Lavrov. "Yes, this meeting will be held on July 3," the ministry’s Information and Press Department reported. It is expected to take place in the morning and start the delegation’s program in Moscow.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier expressed hope that the visit of the US congress members "will galvanize the restoration of comprehensive interparliamentary exchanges between our countries that had been frozen by Congress representatives."
American MPs also stated the need to improve relations between Russia and the US. Shelby noted that, though Moscow and Washington will probably always remain rivals, they don’t have to be enemies. He also spoke in favor of improving relations between the two countries and said that US President Donald Trump, who plans to meet with Putin at a bilateral summit in Helsinki on July 16, shares this position.
