The Gateway Pundit has obtained a copy of the letter that President Donald Trump gave Senator Rand Paul to give to Vladimir Putin.
Senator Rand Paul delivered the letter to the Kremlin last week during his trip to Moscow.
The letter, penned on August 1, begins with “Dear President Putin,” but has “President Putin” crossed out with thick black marker and “Vladimir” written over it by President Trump to make it more personal.
It states that he enjoyed the meeting and looks forward to the next one in DC after the New Year.
“It remains my view that it is vital for us to engage and to aim at improving relations between our countries,” the letter states.
The official letter continues on to introduce Senator Paul, noting that he is a member of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a voice for expanding dialogue with the Russian Federation. The President explained that he was going to be in Moscow from August 5th to August 8th.
The president wrote that Senator Paul would like the opportunity to meet with Putin so that they could discuss several topics that the senator is interested in such as “legislative exchanges, parliamentary dialogue, cultural and educational exchange programs, increased counter-terrorism co-operation, building on recent successes like the disruption of the St. Petersburg plot and resolution of the military conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.”
The letter is signed, “Best Wishes, Donald.”
Senator Paul did not end up meeting with Putin during his trip as he wasn’t in Moscow, but did meet with members of the Federation. The Kentucky senator told The Gateway Pundit that his trip was a “great success.”
“I think it was a huge success. Our first day there we met with the Federation, which is the upper house of the Russian Parliament, and they agreed to continue our conversation by coming to Washington in November,” Senator Paul told TGP. “So, we believe that we will have members of the Federation and the Duma Foreign Relations Committee come continue dialogue.”
Senator Paul and his team also met with Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who famously negotiated nuclear weapon reductions with President Ronald Reagan.
“We were excited to meet with Gorbachev. I think Reagan and Gorbachev’s meetings in the 80s were incredibly important, and I think it’s important for us to remember that despite our differences, controversies and ongoing issues — dialogue is incredibly important,” Senator Paul said.
Much like Reagan, both Senator Paul and President Trump understand that diplomacy is a strength.
