Mr. Margelov, who is now in London, has told RIA Novosti in an interview that the delegation will include four MPs on the Federation Council-Senate working group.
"We are going at an official invitation of our counterparts in the U.S. Senate who represent the Democratic Party and the International Democratic Institute," our interviewee revealed.
The main objective of the trip will be to consolidate relations with the U.S. Democrats and hold a number of meetings with politicians and experts on John Kerry's team who are shaping the Democratic presidential candidate's platform, specifically prospective policies vis-a-vis Russia, Mr. Margelov said.
Russia wants to make sure that the election campaign and election debates in the United States will not adversely affect U.S.-Russian relations, he added.
The Russian delegation will be attending almost all of the congress' events as well as ones to be held as part of an international conference of world leaders, which is organized by the U.S. Democratic Party.
The Russian lawmakers are going to show to their American counterparts a revised report by the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, "U.S. Legislation and Russian Interests."
Asked about how the U.S. government's attitude toward Russia may change in case the Democratic candidate wins the forthcoming presidential election, our interviewee said that "the American political tradition presupposes 'the perpetuation of institutional memory in foreign policies." He said that those on John Kerry's team who are charged with working out policies vis-a-vis Russia and the former Soviet Union are competent and well-qualified specialistsand that many of them used to work in the Bill Clinton Administration.
"Clearly, whoever wins the U.S. presidential polls, Russia will respect the choice of the American people. We will be working with any U.S. Administration, with any U.S. Congress," Mr Margelov said.
"The United States is a strategic partner of ours, not just because we have common foes, but also because our national interests are often identical or at least not conflicting. Most of the American politicians share this view," he explained.
According to Mr. Margelov, Russian MPs are also planning to attend a congress of the U.S. Republican Party in New York in early September. "The bipartisan nature of the U.S. political system prompts us to make our contacts with American counterparts along these lines, following patterns developed in American politics," our interviewee said in conclusion.
