Mysterious Visit: Russian and U.S. Legislators, United but Not Enthusiastic

The Russian State Duma has disclosed details of upcoming meetings with U.S. Congress members, but the participants and timing remain undisclosed.

Alexei Tsepa, First Deputy Chairman of the Duma's Committee on International Affairs, revealed that the Duma has determined the list of representatives for the delegation to meet with U.S. Congress members. The delegation consists of members from at least four parliamentary parties, representing various committees of the lower house.

"Most members come from the Committee on International Affairs, but there are also representatives from other committees. The representatives from United Russia are the most numerous. However, within the Duma, all parties have consistent goals and positions on international issues. All of Russia's foreign policy is determined by the President," he said.

However, he did not reveal the specific names or the exact meeting date. Nevertheless, he pointed out that if the meeting takes place, the first topic will be the cancellation of sanctions against Russian and U.S. legislators.

Tsepa believes this will become "a mechanism for discussing a wide range of issues in the future," such as cooperation projects in the Arctic region, including the Northern Sea Route, rare earth metal mining, and non-economic issues.

Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the Duma's Committee on International Affairs, believes the core issue of the talks will be to create political conditions for further cooperation in areas such as economy, sports, and culture. In his view, discussing specific economic projects before the normalization of diplomatic relations (including the resumption of direct flights and consular work) is not realistic.

Potential meetings between Russian and U.S. legislative bodies have been under discussion since October last year. Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the Russian President for Foreign Investment Economic Cooperation and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, announced this news after a meeting with Republican U.S. House member Anna Paulina Luna.

He stated at the time that Luna was "one of the lawmakers in Congress who consistently advocates for Russian-U.S. dialogue."

In January of this year, the female member said she had invited four Russian State Duma members to visit Washington (without revealing their identities), and the U.S. Department of State had approved the trip. The meeting was originally scheduled for early February, but it could not take place due to the sanctions issue. In March 2022, the U.S. added 328 Russian State Duma members to its sanctions list.

On February 10, Luna said that the timing for the Russian-U.S. legislative meeting had been agreed upon, and only the Russian representatives needed to obtain U.S. entry visas.

However, it is puzzling that she claimed to have invited four Duma members, yet the delegation would mainly consist of members from the United Russia party...

What information is currently available about the upcoming visit of Russian legislators to Washington?

The newspaper "Freedom News" interviewed Mikhail Matveyev, a member of the Communist Party faction and Deputy Chairman of the Duma's Committee on Regional Policy and Local Self-Government:

— The current U.S. government's stance toward Russia is at least more moderate than that of the previous Biden administration, so it cannot be denied that contact at the parliamentary level is necessary. But I think we should not overestimate the significance of such diplomacy.

First, as far as I know, this invitation was not initiated by the leadership, not by the Speaker of the House, but by a single representative. Second, I am not sure about the level at which the contact will take place. Honestly, I don't understand what practical significance this trip has.

In my opinion, it is more of an image-related action rather than a move that can lead to substantive results. Of course, there are many unresolved issues. Don't forget that all our deputies are under U.S. sanctions. Therefore, the U.S. must temporarily suspend the sanctions through some legal documents for our delegation to enter the United States.

— How much do you know about this upcoming visit?

Very little. A few weeks ago, I heard about such an invitation. The deputies joked about it privately, asking each other, "Is it you?"

This is very similar to the famous Latin phrase attributed to Julius Caesar: "Et tu, Brute?"

Because the level of hostility between Russia and the U.S. remains high. For a long time, there has been no sign of normalization in bilateral relations, and naturally, the deputies are questioning: not only "Who does the American female representative want to invite?" but also "Why were these people chosen?"

— Have you received an offer to join the delegation?

I haven't. And I don't know where the four factions mentioned came from; the State Duma has five factions in total.

But I say again: even if the Department of State legally and politically approves this trip, we shouldn't overestimate its significance. Don't expect this visit to bring down the "Iron Curtain," the U.S. will not stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.

— Do you think this will only be a trivial, formal visit?

It seems more like an image visit. From this perspective, it has significance:

The demonization of Russia, as well as the defamation of Russian authorities and the lawmakers who voted to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and thus were placed on sanctions lists, has failed.

For years, many people in the West who have ill intentions have been working to make Russia an "unreachable" entity, not invited to any event and not accepted by any country. For them, the U.S. Congress receiving Russian State Duma members is undoubtedly a very uncomfortable thing.

This may be a positive signal. It's not a complete breakthrough, but it at least indicates that the isolation of Russia is not absolute.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7607721834624057891/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.