The White House said Tuesday that a letter from President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin was meant to introduce Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul to the Russian leader.
“At Senator Paul’s request, President Trump provided a letter of introduction. In the letter, the President mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
While in Russia, Paul announced Wednesday that he was “honored to deliver a letter from President Trump to President Vladimir Putin’s administration.”
“The letter emphasized the importance of further engagement in various areas including countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges,” Paul said on Twitter.
A White House official said that Paul wanted this letter from Trump in hopes of setting up a meeting with Putin during his trip to Moscow this week.
A meeting between Paul and Putin has not happened and isn’t expected to happen at the moment.
The topics that Paul said were included in the letter are things Paul wished to discuss with Putin, not topics Trump asked him to raise with Putin.
