Russian and US lawmakers begin talks – senior MP

Talks between a Russian parliamentary delegation and members of the US Congress have begun in Washington, senior Russian lawmaker Boris Chernyshov has said.

The meeting will involve both Republicans and Democrats, as well as representatives of several Russian parliamentary parties, Chernyshov, a member of the LDPR Party, who is also taking part in the meeting, said in a message published on Telegram on Thursday.

The lawmakers plan to present Moscow’s position to their American counterparts and “create the basis for future dialogue,” the vice chair of the Russian lower house, the State Duma, said.

The Kremlin has welcomed the meeting as a “necessary” and “very important” dialogue. The delegation members met with Russian President Vladimir Putin before departing for the US to receive additional “guidelines” on foreign policy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists earlier in the day.

Moscow hopes the visit will help revive a major avenue of dialogue that has been “totally frozen” in recent years, he said, adding that it would be “in the interests of both Moscow and Washington.”

Parliamentary ties between the two nations remained virtually non-existent after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, when Washington sanctioned most Duma and Federation Council (upper house of the parliament) members, suspending formal contact and high-level visits.

Moscow and Washington began restoring dialogue after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in early 2025. However, there had been no in-person meetings between Russian and the US lawmakers until Thursday.