U.S. Senators urge President Trump to take a tough stance against Russia
A group of Senators, composed of twelve Republicans and fifteen Democrats, sent a letter to the President-elect of the United States with a request to take a tough stance against Russia due to the military occupation of Ukrainian territories, as stated in the report published on the website of Illinois Senator Richard Durbin.
Durbin and the Senator from Ohio, Robert Portman, initiated the appeal to Trump. Both politicians founded the Senators’ meeting on the Ukrainian issue.
“In the light of the continuing aggression of the Russian Federation that refuses to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its sovereign right to choose its own destiny, we repeat our call: the United States should strengthen political, economic and military support of Ukraine,” stated the Senators’ signed appeal.
Among other things, the senators favored the supply of lethal weapons to Kyiv to deter military aggression and called on the United States to support political reforms in the country. The senators emphasized that the annexation of the Crimea by Russia should never be recognized. They also urged against lifting sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in Eastern Ukraine until the key provisions of the Minsk Agreements have been fully implemented.
The majority of Senators from both Republican and Democratic Parties, who are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, have signed this appeal.