“Visit of the Third Reich”. A delegation from the State Duma of the Russian Federation visited Washington, and Congress reacted

Luna announced the arrival of the Russians on Thursday, March 26, on the social network X.

“Today, for the first time in nearly a quarter century, five members of Congress (bipartisan) met with five members of the Russian State Duma to discuss peace and bilateral relations. As representatives of the world's two largest nuclear superpowers, we owe our citizens open dialogue, ideas and open channels of communication. We will continue to facilitate this dialogue and promote peace in support of this administration's aspirations for peace, as well as economic opportunity,” she wrote.

In addition to Luna, the published photos show Republicans Eli Crane (Arizona), Derrick Van Orden (Wisconsin) and Andy Ogles (Tennessee). The Russian delegation to the United States included the grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov (assistant to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin), Vyacheslav Nikonov, as well as “several members of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs.” They posed for photos near the US Institute of Peace, renamed after US President Donald Trump, and were seen walking around the Capitol's Statuary Hall, the article said.

According to Politico, Van Orden in his statement emphasized that if he can sit down with the Russian Federation at the negotiating table in pursuit of peace, then anyone can.

At the same time, a Democrat from Virginia, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, in a comment to the publication, noted that he considers the arrival of the Russians “extremely problematic.”

US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson stressed that “members of the criminal military regime should not be welcomed in any way.” [нелегитимного президента РФ Владимира] Putin,” calling them “self-proclaimed enemies of the American way of life and perpetrators of horrific mass murder.” He also compared the meeting on Capitol Hill to “a visit from the Third Reich.”

Nebraska Republican Representative Don Bacon also criticized the meeting. He said that “Putin and his cronies hate America, they hate freedom and they want to undermine the authority of the United States at every turn.” He added that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a “giant war crime.”

The conference came amid criticism of Russia for sharing intelligence with Iran, which the EU says helped Tehran attack the Americans. The Kremlin said it was ready to stop cooperation with Iran if the United States stopped the transfer of data to Ukraine, but Washington categorically rejected such a proposal, the authors of the article noted.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shagin criticized the decision to allow sanctioned Russian officials, calling it legitimizing the Kremlin. The New York Times wrote that the State Department had to remove them from the sanctions list for the duration of the visit.

Democratic House Intelligence Committee member Mike Quigley saw it as a continuation of Trump's policy of “moral equivalence” in the war between Russia and Ukraine, while Democratic House Representative Jamie Raskin denounced Luna for giving a “private tour” to Kremlin members who “love Putin,” citing the latter as Trump's “mentor and good friend.”