In their letter to President John Biden, the U.S. Senators express their bipartisan support to the Eastern European allies and partners.
This current crisis, artificially created by Vladimir Putin’s unprecedented build-up of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s border, reflects Putin’s refusal to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Russia’s neighbors.
“The United States and its allies will not accept Russia’s current aggression against Ukraine, nor will it allow for an invasion of Ukraine without severe consequences” – reads the statement.
According to the Senators, by submitting Russia’s list of required public “security guarantees” to Western governments, Putin explicitly demanded NATO rule out membership to Ukraine and commit to preventing further enlargement of the alliance. Rather than security guarantees, however, these demands, according to the Statement, “are an attempt to recreate a Russian sphere of influence in Europe, where the Kremlin is free to coerce and bully countries like Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, who have since become firm American allies and partners”.
Based on the Statement, it is important that Russia does not have veto power on NATO enlargement and expansion of the Alliance; this will be decided solely by NATO members themselves; The United States and its allies and partners are committed to the principle of “no decisions or discussions about Ukraine without Ukraine,” which should also be applied to Georgia; The door to NATO membership remains open to European countries which are ready and willing to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership and whose membership contributes to the security in the Euro-Atlantic Area.
The bipartisan letter to President Joe Biden is signed by Marco Rubio, Jeanne Shaheen, Thom Tillis, Christopher Coons, Joni Ernst, Jeffrey Merkley, Michael Rounds, Cory Booker and John Barrasso.