WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement ahead of President Trump’s scheduled call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday:
“While I understand President Trump’s desire to engage in diplomacy, I would urge him not to be fooled by Vladimir Putin’s false flattery or manipulative tactics. Vladimir Putin used President Trump’s first term to continue Russia’s bloody offensive in Ukraine’s East while planning for an even broader expansion into Ukraine’s sovereign territory, which came in 2022. No one wants peace more than the Ukrainians, but a peace without adequate security guarantees for Ukraine is no peace at all. The U.S. must back negotiations with clear consequences for Putin if he chooses to continue his campaign of terror against the true victims of this war—the innocent Ukrainians defending their country against a neighboring mad man.”
Ranking Member Shaheen champions bipartisan support for Ukraine in the U.S. Senate. Last week, Shaheen led a bipartisan group of her colleagues on the Senate floor to voice support for Ukraine. On the third-anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Senator Shaheen led a bipartisan resolution expressing the U.S. Senate’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and condemning Russia’s illegal attempts to seize Ukrainian territory. Last month, Ranking Member Shaheen led U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) on a bipartisan delegation visit to Kyiv to convey that the U.S. continues to stand with Ukraine and witness firsthand the devastating impact of Putin’s illegal war.
Shaheen co-chairs the bipartisan U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group in support of the transatlantic Alliance. She has advocated for strengthening NATO-Ukraine relations, pushed for increased military and humanitarian aid and supported sanctions against Russia.
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