Months after his visit to Moscow on the invitation of the Russian State Duma, Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser (ADR) has met again with top officials in an attempt to foster EU-Russian dialogue.

Only months after his controversial Moscow trip, Kartheiser (ADR) met with foreign affairs chair of the Russian Duma Leonid Slutsky on Sunday. The pair met in Geneva to discuss ways to "deepen the dialogue" between interested MEPs and the Duma.

The two agreed to hold a further in-person meeting in November and, on Slutsky's initiative, to set up monthly video conferences. Kartheiser also proposed an in-person conference outside the European Union, naming Turkey as a possible venue, to examine Europe's security architecture, EU-Russia relations, and how to avoid a renewed arms race.

The press release comes only months after Kartheiser's controversial visit to Moscow, which he described as an effort to "build bridges" on the invitation of the Russian Duma. In June, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) expelled him for crossing a political red line set by the European Union, though the Luxembourgish politician continued to defend his line. He has been working as non-attached MEP since.