Lawmakers in Washington will address democracy and human rights, "frozen" conflicts in ex-Soviet Georgia and Moldova, the future for Kosovo, Serbia's largely Albanian-populated province seeking independence, as well as United States' plans to open bases in Europe as part of its missile defense shield.
Russia and the U.S. have so far failed to agree on the issues, whereas Washington's missile defense plans have prompted Moscow to warn, in a flashback to the Cold War times, that it will target its warheads on Europe if the U.S. goes ahead with a radar in the Czech Republic and a missile base in Poland.
A senior congressman and a harsh critic of Russia's democratic record, Tom Lantos, welcomed the inter-parliament dialogue, which he said would set the tone for Russian-American relations.
The session will last throughout Thursday, and members of the public and journalists will be allowed to attend. Russian and U.S. lawmakers last met in Washington in November 2005 and held an earlier meeting in Moscow in June 2004.
