Top Russian lawmaker offers reset to US Congress

Such steps are only possible if Washington shows a desire to cooperate, Leonid Slutsky has said

The Russian State Duma is ready to reboot ties with the US Congress and establish a more effective framework for parliamentary diplomacy, senior MP Leonid Slutsky has said.

His comments came shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

”In recent years, relations between the two largest nuclear powers, Russia and the US, have nearly sunk to zero, but today we see potential grounds for the situation to be revised,” Slutsky, who heads the Duma Committee on International Affairs and leads the LDPR party, said during a State Duma plenary session.

”We are ready for a reset,” he added, while floating the possibility of re-launching the 'Duma-Congress' format or adopting a more effective framework.

The lawmaker acknowledged, however, that such steps will only be possible with some positive moves from the US side.

READ MORE: Trump team preparing early talks with Putin – CNN

”We understand that there is no magic switch that would allow us to reset the global situation,” Slutsky stressed.

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is open to contacts with Washington, and that the new US administration’s policies will largely determine the world order. The diplomat added that it remains unclear whether Trump’s pledges will be fulfilled.

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The new US leader has repeatedly pledged to put an end to geo-political conflicts, accusing his predecessor Joe Biden of pushing the world to the brink of World War III.

Speaking with journalists in the Oval Office shortly after his inauguration, Trump said he still had “half a day” to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict. The quip came after he was reminded of his campaign promise to end the fighting within 24 hours of returning to the White House.

Trump has also pledged to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “as quickly as possible” to find a diplomatic settlement to the Ukraine crisis. The Russian president has welcomed Trump’s intention to resume dialogue between Moscow and Washington, and congratulated him on his inauguration.