US senator visits Moscow to as US polling shows opposition to reengagement with Russia
US Senator Rand Paul will today become the latest member of Congress to travel to Russia as part of President Trump’s efforts to reengage with Moscow. The trip follows a similar effort earlier last month.
Senator Paul will meet with his counterparts from the Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. The senator’s trip follows Trump’s controversial Helsinki summit with Putin last month, which he strongly endorsed. The trip also demonstrates the continued determination of certain members of the Republican Party to defend the Trump administration’s attempt at warmer relations with Russia.
With opinion polls showing over two-thirds of Americans oppose such a policy in light of electoral interference, the trip is expected to be widely criticised with little prospect for anything more than a conciliatory tone with Russian counterparts. Such positions towards Russia would appear to contravene the mood of the electorate leading up to the midterms, regarding a warming of relations. Additionally, the continued consensus of the US intelligence community of a Russian desire to interfere in the midterms shows that Moscow remains a long-term risk to the US political system.
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