U.S. Senators will ask Congress to impose severe sanctions against Russia
After a visit to Ukraine, Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar went to Georgia, where they announced that they would seek from Congress the imposition of more severe sanctions against Russia and its President, Vladimir Putin. The Senators made their statement on January 1, Krym.Realii reported.
“We hope to make 2017 a year of responsibility for crimes. It is time to restrain Putin. The time has come for new sanctions that will badly affect him and the Russian energy industry and banking sector,” the U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham stated on Sunday in Tbilisi.
Graham, together with the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, John McCain, and the Democrat from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, arrived at Tbilisi for a two-day official visit to participate in the NATO-Georgia meeting.
“We urge our colleagues to impose more significant and severe sanctions against Russia for its hacker attacks on the United States,” McCain stated, adding that there is obvious evidence of Russian intervention in the electronic resources of the U.S. Democratic Party. The senators visited Khurvateli village at the administrative border near the region of South Ossetia controlled by Russian troops.
“Currently, we are experiencing hard and challenging times. We will continue to make every effort to support the full independence, freedom and territorial integrity of Georgia,” McCain said. The senators also plan to meet with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, and the President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili on January 2 and to visit the NATO training center in Krtsanisi.
Graham stated that on their return the three Senators would tell Congress what Russia is doing in Ukraine and has done in the Baltic countries. The U.S. senators arrived in Ukraine on December 30.
On the same day, McCain and Graham were given state awards for significant personal contribution to strengthening of relations between Ukraine and the United States.
On December 31, the three senators, together with the President of Ukraine, welcomed Ukrainian servicemen at the command center near Shyrokyne, where skirmishes between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists have recently taken place. In their interview to Radio Svoboda, the senators stated that the U.S. Congress intends to endorse new sanctions against Russia in the New Year.
According to them, these sanctions would affect the energy and banking sectors of the Russian economy. The legislators expressed their hope that the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump would join the efforts of Congress in countering Russia’s aggression in the world.