Moscow( CNN) Sen. Rand Paul on Monday invited Russian lawmakers to Washington after satisfying Russian members of parliament in Moscow.
Paul is in Moscow meeting with Russian lawmakers in a journey he sees as a continuation of US President Donald Trump's diplomatic outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and comes several weeks after Trump invited Putin to DC as well. Paul has been one of Trump's most outspoken supportersfollowing the criticism Trump faced — including from some within his own party — for the US President's handling of his meeting with Putin in July. During a news conference in Helsinki at the time, Trump declined to back the conclusion of the US intelligencethat Russia interfered with the US presidential election over Putin's denials, though Trump afterward said when he was back in the US that he misspoke.
Paul is also expected to meet with Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov and State Duma Foreign Affairs committee head Leonid Slutsky during his visit, and plans to continue speaks in Tuesday. The US delegation also plans to visit Saint Petersburg.
