U.S. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said she will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economic cooperation envoy later in October, as officials in Moscow blamed the United States for a breakdown in bilateral relations.
“I have officially confirmed a meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, Special Envoy to the President of Russia, for later this month,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, wrote on X late Wednesday. “My colleagues and I look forward to this meeting.”
Luna, a staunch supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump and vocal critic of American financial and military aid to Ukraine, did not specify the format, date or location of the meeting.
“Our two countries do not need to be enemies. Allies in trade benefit everyone,” the lawmaker wrote. “I know I am not the only member of Congress or American who believes that maintaining this open dialogue is essential.”
Dmitriev, who also heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, confirmed the meeting and thanked Luna for what he called her “courageous stand for peace and dialogue.”
“The world depends on the U.S. and Russia listening, understanding each other, and working together to address global challenges,” he wrote on X.
On Thursday, the Kremlin denied rumors that a possible second meeting between Putin and Trump was on the agenda.
Luna’s office told Russian state media last month that a U.S.-Russian parliamentary meeting on “neutral territory” was being prepared, though it did not specify the focus of that planned meeting. Luna later claimed that Congress was seeking to organize a meeting with Russian lawmakers to discuss UFOs.
Russian lawmakers have also spoken about the possibility of holding talks with their American counterparts following the Aug. 15 summit in Alaska between Trump and Putin. That meeting ended without any breakthrough, and Trump has since adopted a tougher tone toward Moscow.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday that “momentum” from the Alaska summit has been “exhausted” as he accused Ukraine’s European allies of undermining diplomatic efforts to end the war. He also warned that relations with Washington were “collapsing,” which he blamed on the American side.
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