Russian and American Senators to discuss situation in Iraq

A working group of the US Senate and the Federation Council (the upper chamber of Russian parliament) will have its regular meeting on Wednesday in Washington. It will discuss the situation in Iraq among other things, Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Federation Council's international committee and co-chairman of the working group, told RIA Novosti.

He recalled that the group had been set up two years ago. On the American side it is headed by Trent Lott, an influential Republican Senator.

The Russian senator said that the agenda of the meeting, apart from the situation in Iraq, also features the issue of Middle East settlement, Russian-American bilateral relations, the election campaign in the US and its prospects, and the work to prepare a second edition of the report "American Legislation and Russian Interests".

Margelov noted that the first edition of the report prepared by the international committee of the Federation Council in 2002 was handed to the US president during a summit meeting.

The second edition will be presented early in July in Moscow and Washington. "The report analyses changes in the American legislation that have taken place over the past two years from the point of view of Russian interests," Margelov said.

"We also want the American partners to take a close and critical look at Russian legislation, in the way we study the American," the senator noted.

Margelov also said that the Russian part of the working group of the US Senate and the Federation Council plans to hold in Washington meetings with top-ranking members of the US National Security Council, the Department of State, and representatives of major American research centres.

Margelov is scheduled to address the Heritage Foundation. The Russian senators will stay in the US until May 22.