WASHINGTON, MAR 28: A new group will be established in the US Congress to interact with Russia’s State Duma, Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Nikonov said here on Saturday.
Nikonov, from the United Russia party and first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, led a five‑member Russian parliamentary delegation to Washington. The group held talks with US lawmakers and administration officials on Thursday and Friday, focusing on strategic stability, Ukraine, and broader bilateral ties.
“The group for relations with the US Congress, which existed in the State Duma but was unused in recent years, is now operational. It is clear that a group for relations with the State Duma will be created in Congress,” Nikonov told reporters after the visit.
He added that while the United States is interested in overcoming barriers in relations, no major breakthroughs should be expected from this first round of contacts, and the normalization process will not be immediate.
