On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy reported of the embassy’s request that Russian diplomats meet with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. A major Syrian ally, Russia has close relations with the Assad government and has openly opposed U.S. military involvement in Syria. Russia hopes to undercut Obama’s decision about sending military to Syria, by persuading Congress in this meeting. The details of who would be in the delegation were unclear at the time, but the embassy Spokesman said it would include members of the upper and lower chambers of the Russian parliament. John Boehner’s spokesman, Michael Steel, said: “The speaker has declined the Russian embassy’s request that he meet with a delegation,” but the responses of other congressional leaders have not yet been reported. Boehner announced his support for Obama’s decision on Tuesday.
Dick Luger, former head of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commented: “At this particular point, my understanding has been that relations between members of Congress and the Russian parliament have been very sour. I don’t think a delegation from Russia will make any difference in terms of congressional votes. But at the same time there may be the possibility that dialogue could lead to other positive things.” Some people are even less optimistic about the potential delegation, and a House leadership aide simply responded, “Good luck to ‘em!”
