Rand Paul Delivers Letter From Donald Trump To Vladimir Putin In Moscow

On Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I was honored to deliver a letter from President Donald J. Trump to President Vladimir Putin’s administration,” Paul said on a statement on Twitter. The letter highlighted how the U.S. wants to continue to work together with Russia on “countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges,” Paul said.

It is not clear what the exact content of the letter is or how it was delivered, but White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement that it was Paul who had requested Trump to provide “a letter of introduction,” Politico reported. “In the letter, the President mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin,” Gidley said.

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Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov confirmed that the letter was delivered and will receive Putin shortly, according to USA Today. “Yes, indeed the letter was received through diplomatic channels. We expect that the president’s administration will receive it shortly,” Peskov said.

Paul met with Russian officials in Moscow this week and announced that Russian lawmakers have agreed to visit the U.S. Capitol, which would be the first time in almost three years that an official Russian delegation has visited the U.S. Capitol.

Russia is seeking relief from sanctions by the U.S., which is punishing Russia for its annexation of Crimea in 2014, its interference in the 2016 presidential election and recently for poisoning of ex-Russian spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The news comes after the White House recently announced that Trump would delay any meeting with Putin until next year because of the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. “The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year,” said Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton said in a statement last month.

Article by Steven Abendroth