The two parliaments' friendship group was never established
Meanwhile, members of the US Congress have not yet formed the friendship group for relations with the Russian parliament, despite the fact that both sides had agreed to do so during their meeting in March, when a delegation of the Russian State Duma visited the United States for the first time in 12 years. As Alexey Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee, stated, American lawmakers are not ready to travel to Russia, as they are focusing almost exclusively on the domestic political scene and particularly on the November elections.
The importance of parliamentary contacts
Yegor Toropov, an analyst at the Higher School of Economics, believes that contacts between parliaments should not be underestimated. According to him, due to the strong influence they exert within the United States, members of Congress can significantly accelerate and strengthen efforts to achieve interstate agreements. In his view, this channel of communication could play a decisive role in future steps toward restoring full economic and political cooperation between the two countries.
The Ukrainian issue remains the "key"
Political scientist Alexey Chernyayev argues that progress in Russia-US relations depends directly on the evolution of the Ukrainian crisis. After the Russia-US summit in Anchorage, Alaska, a round of talks began between Moscow and Kyiv, with the participation of the US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. However, as the negotiations yielded no results, the so-called "spirit of Anchorage" began to fade. Today, talks between Russia and Ukraine remain stagnant, while Washington has recently turned its attention primarily to resolving the crisis with Iran.
US elections may worsen the deadlock
According to the analysis, the current deadlock in relations between the two countries, including parliamentary dialogue, may worsen if the Democrats prevail over the Republicans in the elections for Congress. A real de-escalation and rapprochement is considered possible only if a comprehensive solution to the conflict in Ukraine is reached, which, for now, still seems distant.
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