On September 6, according to TASS news agency, former US Senator Dennis Kucinich said that Russia and the US maintaining contact channels, including dialogue between senators, is necessary for the people of the two countries to understand each other better.
In an interview with TASS, Mr. Kucinich said that US senators should go to Russia and meet people directly. According to him, such visits can help US senators realize that Russians have many similarities with Americans.
It is important that civil servants, members of Congress, go to Russia and meet with the people," Mr. Kucinich said.
According to him, direct contact can change people's perceptions, especially when one side has had negative prejudices against the other.
Mr. Kucinich recalled his participation in the establishment of a working group in the US House of Representatives to promote friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation with Russia.
This group is tasked with contributing to building relations and organizing exchanges with Russian leaders at the State Duma.
The former US senator expressed his pleasure that dialogue and exchange activities between the two sides were resumed in March. At that time, a delegation from the Russian State Duma came to Washington and conducted working sessions, including meetings with members of the US Congress.
According to sources, these activities mark the resumption of the Russia-US inter-parliamentary dialogue, which has been stalled for many years, in reality.
Mr. Kucinich said that all forms of diplomatic contact are meaningful, from meetings between the US Congress and the State Duma to meetings between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He made the above comment in the context of plans to send some US senators to Russia in the fall or winter.
We are looking into the eyes of brothers and sisters who can speak a different language and have different ethnic origins, but they are all human beings," he said.
Mr. Kucinich represented Ohio in the US House of Representatives from 1997 to 2013. He participated in the White House race twice, in 2004 and 2008, and also served as mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
He believes that the world is increasingly connected and interdependent. Emphasizing differences between countries can increase division and create conditions for interests related to weapons and conflict.
