A delegation of lawmakers from Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, visited the U.S. Congress for the first time in decades, according to a statement from Republican congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who helped organize the visit. As the representative of Florida’s 13th district wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“Today, for the first time in close to a 1/4 century, 5 members of Congress (bipartisan) met with 5 members of the Russian Duma to discuss peace and bilateral relations. As representatives of the world’s two greatest nuclear super powers, we owe our citizens open dialogue, ideas, and open lines of communication. We will continue to foster this dialogue and push for peace in support of this admins push for peace, as well as economic opportunity.”
Photographs published by Luna show that the Russian delegation included:
- State Duma Deputy Speaker Boris Chernyshov of the nationalist LDPR party,
- former Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov,
- first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on international affairs Vyacheslav Nikonov,
- former speedskater and United Russia lawmaker Svetlana Zhurova, who also serves on the international affairs committee,
- and A Just Russia — For Truth lawmaker and economist Mikhail Delyagin.
The American side included Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Wisconsin Republican Derrick Van Orden, Arizona Republican Eli Crane, and Texas Democrat Vicente Gonzalez Jr.
Delyagin wrote on his Telegram channel that preparations for the visit had been underway since last year “behind closed doors, in order to avoid provocations by forces seeking to drag the United States into expanded support for Ukraine.” He said the makeup of the delegation had been determined by the “country’s leadership,” and that a return visit would most likely take place before mid-July. He also said members of the Russian delegation had been temporarily removed from U.S. sanctions lists to facilitate the trip to Washington, adding that the advance issuance of visas showed the Trump administration’s “strong interest” in “normalizing relations.”
“We did not avoid sharp and fundamental issues, including both Ukraine and Iran. A broad range of topics was discussed: from student exchanges, sports and visa issuance, to investment and technology,” Delyagin wrote.
Svetlana Zhurova told the Russian broadcaster RTVI that the meeting also addressed diplomatic property, direct flights, and the possible creation in Congress of a “friendship group” responsible for restoring relations with Russia.
The delegations exchanged symbolic gifts. The Russian lawmakers received souvenir challenge coins from Luna and socks depicting U.S. President Donald Trump that were produced during his 2024 campaign. The Americans, among other things, received from the Russians a postcard signed by participants in the Apollo-Soyuz space mission. The first meetings between the delegations took place on March 26 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington and at the residence of the Russian ambassador to the United States. Meetings with U.S. officials and analysts were scheduled for Friday. The guests were also given a tour of the Capitol.
Diplomatic contacts between Russia and the United States regarding the war in Ukraine have been put on hold because of the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The last round of trilateral talks on Ukraine took place Feb. 17-18 in Geneva. The next stage, which had been planned for early March, did not take place.
