MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. Members of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) don’t have plans to meet with US congressional delegations anytime soon, Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky told reporters, commenting on a statement by US senator Ron Johnson, who said that he had been denied a visa to Russia for a visit as part of a congressional delegation.
"There are no meetings with US congressmen and senators on the State Duma’s agenda for the near future. I know nothing about a visit of the US congressional delegation that Ron Johnson referred to," Slutsky said.
He pointed out that the US senator "must have known that he was on Russia’s blacklist." "It’s useless for him to express outrage. It wasn’t Moscow that initiated illegal restrictions against legislators. We have repeatedly pointed to the need to lift sanctions at various levels for they run counter to the very idea of parliamentarism," the senior Russian lawmaker stressed, adding that still "Washington keeps on strengthening sanctions."
"At the same time, I share the senator’s opinion that direct dialogue between lawmakers may help improve Russia-US relations," Slutsky went on to say. "On our part, we continue to call for expanding ties with the US Congress for it wasn’t our decision to suspend them. However, this process should be based on mutual trust and equality," he emphasized.
Johnson, known for his work on and support of a number of bills introducing sanctions on Russia, said on Monday that he had been denied a Russian visa. The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that the US senator had been blacklisted a while ago and was well aware of it. The ministry pointed out that Johnson "did not apply for a visa but made it look like his visa application had been rejected."