Sen. Mike Lee met Friday with a top Russian official about sanctions preventing colleagues from participating in a planned congressional delegation, state media reported.
Konstantin Kosachyov, the chair of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper parliament chamber, discussed lifting the travel restrictions during a meeting in Moscow with the Utah Republican, several state-owned outlets reported.
“The ultimate goal is to abandon sanctions against legislators altogether,” Mr. Kosachyov said at the meeting, according to the TASS agency. “At least an agreement should be achieved to reciprocally lift sanctions from those legislators who go to the other country on an official visit. I would like to use this meeting to confirm that our proposals remain in force.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Lee confirmed the senator met with Mr. Kosachyov and said they discussed “trade, security and religious liberty issues.”
Sens. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, and Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said last week that their plans to participate in a congressional delegation to Russia were stalled as a result of being denied visas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry later said that Mr. Johnson and Mr. Murphy are both among a list of Americans barred from entering the country, with agency spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling their inclusion a response to the U.S. imposing “unfounded restrictions against a significant number of members of the Federation Council.”
Politico subsequently reported earlier this week that Mr. Lee planned to arrive Friday in Moscow to meet with Russian and U.S. officials, suggesting the senator was not among the Americans blacklisted.
“It is important for the United States to maintain a strong and open dialogue with the Russian Federation in order to make progress on matters that are central to American peace and prosperity,” a spokesperson for Mr. Lee previously told Politico ahead of the trip.
The U.S. and Russia have been on opposite sides of an escalating sanctions battle since 2014 when parts of eastern Ukraine were seized by Moscow-backed rebels. The U.S. ramped up sanctions after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine that March, triggering Moscow to retaliate at the time by imposing travel restrictions on several U.S. lawmakers who condemned the aggression.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.