MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Russian Federation Council international affairs committee, has called for engaging Iran in the efforts to settle the situation in Syria and warned against excessive pressure on Tehran in dealing with its nuclear program at a meeting with a U.S. Congress delegation led by Kevin McCarthy of the Republican Party in Moscow on Tuesday, which was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.
"We discussed aspects of dialogue between Moscow and Washington and key issues on the international agenda. Moscow is willing to continue relations of partnership with Washington, which should rest on a mutually advantageous and long-term basis," Margelov told Interfax on Tuesday.
The parties also touched on the problem of Syria, Margelov said. "I informed our U.S. partners that Russia believes the only possible way to settle the conflict is a peaceful dialogue between the opposition and the Bashar al-Assad government, through mediation of all parties concerned, including Iran," Margelov said.
Active multilateral negotiations have helped achieve "certain progress" in determining a possible format of such a dialogue, he said.
The problem of the Iranian nuclear program was discussed separately, Margelov said. "Iran's possession of nuclear weapons does not meet Russia's interests, but I called for refraining from putting excessive pressure on Tehran. The meeting also addressed Turkey's increasing role in the region and reorientation of Ankara's foreign political course to the Middle East from Europe," he said.
A number of U.S. congressmen also expressed their interest in Russia's party system and party reform. "We also were interested to hear about an internal political situation amid the election campaign in the U.S., and the members of the Republican Party noted in comparing the current state of affairs with the mid-1980s that the principal challenges, like the problem of Iran, have remained in place. But they are firmly convinced that their representative will win the presidential elections and that the Republicans will preserve a majority in the House of Representatives and gain it in the Senate," Margelov said.
A delegation of the Russian Federation Council will repay a visit to Washington next week, Margelov said. "The most important items on the agenda will surely be Russia's explanations on the Magnitsky case and the annulment of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. The U.S. side welcomed this step and expressed its willingness to facilitate a positive solution to the high-profile problems," he said.