A member of the State Duma Foreign Relations Committee Vitaly Milonov has a proposal to launch a special group for restoring normal relations between Russia and the U.S., while other MPs seek to launch a week of U.S.-Russia friendship to mend broken ties. Vitaly Milonov said on November 10, 2016 that the principles of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence are the basis of global security and that relations between the Russian Federation and the United States are especially important in maintaining the balance. “Our nations are the largest economic and cultural centers on the planet.

Our nations possess developed economies, powerful military forces, and the largest trade ties all over the world. These advantages allow them to influence the global political agenda. Unfortunately, due to myopic policies of the U.S. administration and its push towards global hegemony, the relations between our countries have deteriorated to record lows,” Mr. Milonov said. “In the current situation, it might be reasonable to set up a working group of Russian and U.S. lawmakers who would concentrate on normalizing the relations between our countries. This group could start developing a roadmap for the process, as well as work on the particular contradictions between our states that have accumulated over the recent years,” he added. Mr. Milonov also stated that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had previously made positive statements about Russia and expressed a readiness for a genuine restart of relations.

In a separate move, State Duma member Vladimir Sysoyev of the Liberal-Democratic Party and a member of Russia’s Public Chamber Sultan Khamzayev asked the Culture Ministry to consider introducing a week of Russian-American friendship to promote mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence. Deputy Culture Minister Vladimir Aristarkhov said that the Ministry would support the initiative, adding that he personally was also in favor of such soft power projects.