Transatlantic case: Russia is ready for dialogue with American parliamentarians
Russia is open to contacts with the American side at the parliamentary level, the Federation Council and the State Duma told Izvestia. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna announced the interest of the American side to hold such a meeting, with whom Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation, spoke. On October 24, he arrived in the United States to hold meetings with American officials. Members of the Russian parliament may start a dialogue with representatives of the Republican Party, experts say. At the same time, the purpose of Kirill Dmitriev's visit to the United States is to convince the American side that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is possible through pressure on Ukraine, and not on the Russian Federation. Where is the Russian-American dialogue heading and what are the prospects for a Ukrainian settlement — in the Izvestia article.
Prospects for the resumption of the interparliamentary dialogue between the Russian Federation and the United States
Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of Russia for investment and Economic cooperation with Foreign countries, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said on October 26 that he had met with Anna Paulina Luna, a member of the US House of Representatives from the Republican Party. Apparently, this was their first face-to-face meeting. Kirill Dmitriev presented the congressman with flowers, as well as sweets in a box with an image of Vladimir Putin and his quotes. The politician accepted the gift.
Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, and Anna Paulina Luna, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, during a meeting in Miami
Dmitriev called the meeting with Luna very important because the congressman is "an example of people who advocate dialogue with Russia and who want to understand the Russian position." Following the meeting, she stated that she was ready to visit Moscow with a delegation of American congressmen if she received an invitation. Dmitriev himself noted on social media that a meeting of American congressmen with representatives of the Russian State Duma would be organized "in the near future."
— We are always ready to maintain inter-parliamentary contacts. We have said this to all our partners at all possible venues. Therefore, of course, this contact is absolutely possible," Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, told Izvestia.
However, so far the Parliament has not received any official confirmation of its interest in resuming the inter-parliamentary dialogue. Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs committee, told Izvestia that so far there have been no promising countermoves from the United States.
— Everything is developing quite alarmingly, because from the American side there are more and more bellicose statements and decisions. I think common sense will prevail, but we must not give in to emotions. The communication channel between the US State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry is still working. I think that in the end, moving forward will be more real, tangible, and practical. Declarations and arguments are still being exchanged, but we are waiting for something more," the senator said.
The discussion about whether Russia can host congressmen from the United States is still hypothetical, Dmitry Novikov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, confirmed. For substantive discussions, personal contacts are needed, which have not been available yet.
— So far, these are all media games — a media political game. As far as I know, there are no official or semi-official attacks on Russian parliamentarians, the leadership of the State Duma or the Federation Council. We see that statements about the intentions of the United States are becoming tougher than they were before," he told Izvestia.
The meetings of parliamentarians are needed primarily to convey their positions on key issues, said Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.
"I am sure that Vyacheslav Volodin will find in his tight schedule the opportunity to organize a meeting of deputies and, possibly, his own with congressmen from the United States in Moscow, and if necessary, we are ready to fly there at least on weekends," he told Izvestia. — Such meetings are necessary, we need to find contacts and we need to be heard. Issues related to Ukraine, security, disarmament treaties, economic issues, and the environment can also be discussed. It is even possible to discuss the construction of a tunnel (between Russia and Alaska. — Izvestia), it will provide and solve many economic problems.
The establishment of an interparliamentary dialogue between Russia and the United States in the format that Moscow has with friendly countries is hardly possible in the current political climate, said Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to conduct it at the level of individual representatives of the parliamentary circles of both countries.
— I think that it is possible to start some kind of dialogue on an individual level between individual representatives of the Republican Party in Congress and Russian parliamentarians. To return to the institutional dialogue between the State Duma and the House of Representatives, the Federation Council and the Senate, is not possible for me today in the current climate of Russian-American relations," he told Izvestia.
Russian-American dialogue amid new US sanctions
Kirill Dmitriev's visit to the United States began after the American administration imposed new anti-Russian sanctions for the first time in a year. On October 22, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against the oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil and 34 of their subsidiaries. However, according to the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation, the visit was planned a long time ago and is taking place at the invitation of the American side.
Dmitriev said that he had come to the United States to send a number of signals. First of all, Russia wants a peaceful settlement of the conflict with Ukraine, but this is possible only if their root causes are eradicated. In an interview with Fox News, he said that among the key elements of the settlement are the territorial issue, Ukraine's neutrality and security guarantees. Kirill Dmitriev recalled that Kiev had attacked Russian-speaking residents of Donbass before the conflict began. And the main thing in the search for solutions is a dialogue with Moscow, not the introduction of anti—Russian sanctions.
Secondly, it is only possible to have a constructive dialogue with Russia; pressure will not bring the desired results. Thirdly, the Russian military potential is still large enough to continue military operations.
"We have also already managed to inform our American colleagues about the meeting between President Putin and the General Staff, which took place this morning, where the president was informed that 5,000 Ukrainian troops were surrounded in the Kupyansk area, 5.5 thousand in the Krasnoarmeysk area, and about the successful tests of a completely new class of Burevestnik missiles with a nuclear installation." Dmitriev said in his Telegram channel.
It is possible that, in addition to negotiations with Anna Paulina Luna, Kirill Dmitriev held a number of other non-public meetings. Earlier, the Axios portal reported on the possibility of a conversation with Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. However, in the same interview with Fox News, Dmitriev refused to confirm these talks.
— Dmitriev's visit proves once again that neither Russia nor the United States are going to break off the dialogue. And both the sanctions and the cancellation of the Budapest summit are solely attempts to force Russia to make certain concessions in the Ukrainian direction, but without breaking off the dialogue. And here Dmitriev proves to his counterpart in the Trump administration that pressure will not have an impact on Russia, but sanctions are fraught with aggravation of domestic economic and political problems in the States themselves, Dmitry Suslov states.
Dmitriev proves to the administration of Donald Trump that the best way to end the conflict is, on the contrary, to put pressure on Kiev, the political scientist claims.
— Dmitriev, it seems to me, is conveying to the Americans the position that it is necessary to force Ukraine to accept conditions for a peaceful settlement close to the Russian ones, that this is really the only option. And this option will not mean Trump's "capitulation to Putin," the liquidation of Ukraine's statehood, and so on. Russia is not going to establish control over the whole of Ukraine," the analyst noted.
By increasing pressure on Russia, the United States does not want to overdo it, says Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club.
— Trump has repeatedly said that he would not want to use any excessively harsh measures to close the opportunities for moving towards an agreement. Therefore, Trump's task is to try to somehow balance his actions. On the one hand, these sanctions can be used as an additional incentive for Moscow. At least that's what he thinks. On the other hand, it is impossible to create a situation in which Moscow would lose motivation for further dialogue. That's why we see such steps, which, in general, can be considered not quite consistent, but they reflect Trump's desire to keep the doors open for further negotiations," he told Izvestia.
As for the ability of the United States to continue mediating in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, much depends on the ability of Moscow and Kiev to make concessions. At the same time, the United States may exert some pressure on the territorial issue.
— Territorial concessions may not imply legal recognition of the change in the status of these Territories. Kiev may accept that it has lost control over them, but it will not, in principle, abandon attempts to regain them in the future. There's probably some pressure here. Judging by the leaks, the Trump administration would like Ukraine to at least recognize the existing status quo, and maybe even go for some kind of territory swap, says Kortunov.
It is important to note that Russia does not want to interfere in the internal discussions of the United States on the Ukrainian issue. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Washington is under pressure from European "hawks" and Ukraine, which are hindering a peaceful settlement.
Meanwhile, Moscow and Washington could resume a dialogue on the limitation of strategic offensive arms, Andrei Kortunov believes. Russia's successful tests of a new unlimited-range cruise missile with a Burevestnik nuclear power plant may serve as an incentive for this. Its missile tests took place on October 21, which was reported by Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on October 26.
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