Russian member of parliament and former deputy head of the presidential administration Vyacheslav Volodin (L) embraces his colleague Artur Chilingarov during the opening session of the newly-elected State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in Moscow, Russia, October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament said on Wednesday Moscow hoped for more constructive dialogue with the United States now that a new president had been elected, the TASS news agency reported.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said parliament would welcome any steps in these directions.