Rand Paul
U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet in Moscow on August 6 with U.S. Senator Rand Paul, one of the only Washington legislators who applauded a recent summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents.

Ryabkov, in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, and Paul's office announced the meeting on August 2. Russian news agencies said that Paul will be leading a U.S. delegation meeting with Russian lawmakers.

Paul was one of the only U.S. legislators to express support last month for President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Trump's handling of the meeting was met with criticism from most other quarters, centering on Trump's failure to denounce Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Paul's office said he is a "proponent of diplomacy" and would like to see Trump "engaging around the world." It provided no further information about the trip to Moscow, including who else might be in Paul's delegation.

Paul wrote an opinion piece that ran in Politico on July 16, the day of the Helsinki summit, arguing that Trump was right to meet with Putin and saying that he would be traveling to Russia "to discuss common ground with their leaders and help prevent further, unnecessary escalation of tensions."

Next week's visit would be the second U.S. Republican congressional trip to Moscow within several weeks. A delegation of senators and House members traveled there in early July.

Paul, like Trump, has said repeatedly that he believes it is a good idea for the United States to speak to its adversaries rather than rush toward conflict and has expressed skepticism about U.S. intelligence agencies, which have accused Russia of interfering in U.S. elections.