Congressman Smith To Lead Dialogue With Russian Lawmakers

Congressman Chris Smith (R,NJ-4) is leading a congressional delegation in a bilateral meeting with Russian lawmakers, including Pyotr Tolstoi, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma (parliament) during a four day conference which starts on Saturday, July 7, in Berlin.

The meeting is part of the 27th Annual Session of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Parliamentary Assembly.

The bilateral meeting with Russian lawmakers comes nine days before President Donald J. Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.

The OSCE assembly will feature more than 300 parliamentarians from 57 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, to discuss human rights, economic and security issues and adopt resolutions to help shape and influence national and international policies on these matters.

The co-chair the of U.S. Helsinki Commission, Congressman Smith is also the Special Representative to the OSCE-PA on Human Trafficking Issues, a key voice for promoting good practices and policies in the worldwide fight against trafficking. In this role, he is sponsoring a resolution at the assembly that will focus on implementing trafficking-free communities to protect women and children worldwide. It will also call for all OSCE participating states to implement previous commitments concerning trafficking-in-persons, and ramp up efforts on trafficking prevention to protect women and children.

Additionally, Smith is sponsoring two amendments urging member states to better address the persistent problem of global anti-Semitism.