MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Federation Council International Affairs Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov told Interfax he had discussed normalization of Russian-U.S. inter-parliamentary relations with influential U.S. politician Bill Bradley.
"We should take the path of normalization of Russian-U.S. inter-parliamentary relations, which have been curtailed. We need to restore this communication channel we have lost," Margelov stressed.
He said he conveyed his concerns to the U.S. politician.
"Mr. Bradley agreed with the necessity of the soonest normalization of relations between the international committees of the Federation Council and the U.S. Senate and the whole of our chamber and the Senate. He promised political and practical assistance he could render thanks to his broad connections in the Capitol Hill," Margelov said.
He said they called for focusing on positive items of the inter-parliamentary agenda and areas, in which the interests of the two countries supplemented one another instead of being at contrast.
"In the political respect that could be cooperation between Moscow and Washington in African affairs, as it happened in the peaceful division of Sudan into Sudan and South Sudan. We could also develop successful cooperation in healthcare with the Americans," Margelov said.
Student exchanges could be an important cooperation area, the Russian parliamentarian said, noting that Bradley was a member of the International Education Council.
"The Russian-U.S. University, which has opened in Vladivostok, was a separate item on the agenda. This project has been joined by the leading Russian universities and U.S. institutes," Margelov said.
He said he hoped that Russia and the United States would use those projects for introducing a visa-free travel regime for students so that prospective young specialists could share their experiences in studying.