Bogota, Colombia – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement and outlined this framework for legislative action on Ukraine:
“The violence and oppression in Ukraine is spiraling out of control as peaceful demonstrators in Kyiv's Maidan Square are brutalized and killed by government forces. We in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have monitored these developments closely, from holding a hearing last month to introducing a bipartisan resolution expressing deep concern for the undemocratic rule and abuse of individual rights in Ukraine. Only President Yanukovych can put an end to the mayhem that he has unleashed in the Ukrainian capital, but we will not stand idly by while the Ukrainian people are targeted and killed on their own streets. I regret that it has come to this, but I have consulted with my colleagues on the committee and in the days ahead we will take legislative action that will incorporate the following elements:
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