GOP Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Rand Paul says he can't judge 'guilt or innocence' in Breonna Taylor case Overnight Health Care: Health officials tell public to trust in science | Despair at CDC under Trump influence | A new vaccine phase 3 trial starts MORE (Ky.) said on Wednesday that he delivered a letter from President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE to Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of his weeklong trip to Moscow.

“The letter emphasized the importance of further engagement in various areas including countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges," Paul said in a statement.

I 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. — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 8, 2018

Spokespeople for Paul directed questions about the letter, which was given to representatives of Putin, to the White House.

“At Senator Paul’s request, President Trump provided a letter of introduction,” deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in statement. “In the letter, the President mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin.”

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Paul has emerged as one of Trump's most vocal allies on Russia, even as the president's warmer rhetoric, including trying to cast doubt on Moscow's 2016 election interference, has sparked bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill.

In addition to delivering the letter, Paul met this week with Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Foreign Relations, and invited Russian lawmakers to Washington, D.C.

He also met with former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, saying he understood the "critical necessity of engagement" between the United States and Russia.

But despite the trips, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are becoming increasingly concerned that the Kremlin is interfering in the 2018 midterm elections.