Russia-US dialogue essential to tackle global challenges — expert

WASHINGTON, April 6. /TASS/. Dialogue between Russia and the United States, including at the level of lawmakers, is crucial to overcome current global challenges, Helga Zepp LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, said in an interview with a TASS correspondent, commenting on the outcomes of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) delegation visit to Washington. "As the Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna correctly noted, it is of the utmost importance, that the representatives of the world's two largest nuclear powers have an open dialogue, and share ideas about crucial matters," the expert stressed. "The world is clearly in an epochal change, where the outcome is not clear at all," she added, noting that "it could either end up in a catastrophe, or it could be lead to a new era in human history, where the earlier methods of conflict resolution through wars, coups, regime change thru ‘color revolutions,’ and terrorism are overcome for good, and replaced with dialogue and cooperation for mutual benefit." "People to people dialogue, among youth, among scientists and artists, sportsmen and, naturally, elected officials on all levels, are an irreplaceable element in this," Zepp LaRouche said. "If such an exchange is connected with a dialogue of cultures and civilizations, where all sides learn about the best contributions of the others, not only will humanity outgrow its present problems, but through such an exchange we will create a new renaissance, more beautiful than all previous ones," she added. A State Duma delegation held working meetings in Washington on March 26-27. Thus, the Russian-US interparliamentary dialogue, which had been frozen for many years, was effectively revived. The visit took place at the invitation of US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna. The delegation, which held meetings not only with US lawmakers but also with representatives of the US administration, consisted of five people. Summing up the results of the visit, Vyacheslav Nikonov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said he believed the visit could be described as historic.