WASHINGTON, August 28. /TASS/: If US legislators sought to boost ties with Russian lawmakers, they would have long hosted them in Washington, the Russian embassy in the US pointed out, commenting on US Senator Chris Murphy’s statement about being denied a Russian visa.
Senator Ron Johnson had earlier issued a similar statement. "Everything we’ve previously said about Senator Johnson’s statement can be fully applied to Senator Murphy’s words," the Russian embassy noted. "If US legislators favored the development of equal inter-parliamentary dialogue with Russia, they would have long hosted their colleagues from the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the Capitol Hill," the embassy added.
"As for the ‘Russia isolating itself’ nonsense that was for some reason voiced by Senator Murphy, the most eloquent response can be found on the map showcasing members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union — the oldest forum of legislators, which currently brings together representatives from over 179 countries [the US is not the Union’s member — TASS]," Russian diplomats emphasized.
Confrontation instead of dialogue
The Russian embassy said in an earlier statement that Senator Ron Johnson had not applied to the embassy for a Russian visa and hadn’t informed the embassy about his plans to visit Russia. The diplomats said that Johnson’s "groundless accusations against Russia leave no doubt — he is not ready for a dialogue but a confrontation." "In his usual Russophobic manner, he distorts Russian foreign policy and allows himself rude remarks. Based on that, it is unlikely that one can seriously take his statements of alleged intentions to restore direct dialogue with Russian parliamentarians. We have long been calling on the United States to remove lawmakers from any travel restrictions as a first step towards the abolition of ‘blacklists’," the Russian embassy said.
US legislators’ plans
CNN reported earlier that "Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, and Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, were scheduled to travel as part of a congressional delegation to Russia next week. Both said their visas for the trip were rejected." Johnson, known for his work on and support of a number of bills introducing sanctions on Russia, said that he had "planned to speak with a range of Russian government officials, American businesses, civil society organizations, and others."
CNN added that "a third member of the delegation, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, did not have his visa rejected." Lee’s press service told TASS that he planned to meet with US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman. However, the senator hasn’t been granted a Russian visa yet.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that Senator Johnson 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." Chairman of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky, in turn, told reporters that State Duma members did not plan to meet with US congressional delegations in the near future.
