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GOP Senators on Wednesday called on NATO, the Biden administration and their Democratic colleagues to take decisive action to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent threat to invade Ukraine.
"As of yet no one has given Vladimir Putin a bloody nose," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters, acknowledging Putin’s previous invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014.
RUSSIA SENDS MORE TROOPS WESTWARD AMID TENSIONS WITH UKRAINE
"I think the alliance, our friends in NATO and a bipartisan majority are prepared to assist Ukraine in making sure that if it happens this time Vladimir Putin will get a bloody nose," he added.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., center, accompanied by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. speaks during the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations GOP news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) ( )
Lawmakers struck a hard tone in their calls on the administration to enforce sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and aid Ukraine with defensive military aid ahead of any Russian invasion. However, they remain divided on whether sanctions on the pipeline should be enforced as a warning to Putin now or after an invasion of its former soviet nation has already been carried out.
The calls for assertive action have come after talks with Russia stalled last week and Russia continues to amass troops along Ukraine’s border.
Putin has argued the troop buildup is a security precaution and claimed that permitting Ukraine NATO membership would allow the 30-nation alliance strike weapons systems and bases in the former Soviet nation. The U.S. and NATO have refused to oblige Putin’s demands but have called for a diplomatic path to avoid a potential war in Eastern Europe.
SENATORS MEET IN UKRAINE TO REAFFIRM US IS UNITED AGAINST ‘PUTIN’S BELLIGERENCE’
The United Kingdom delivered short-range anti-tank missiles to Ukraine Tuesday – a move GOP lawmakers applauded and called on the Biden administration to increasingly emulate.
Senators met with President Biden Wednesday morning in a closed session to discuss the bipartisan coalition following its return from Kyiv this week.
Republican Sens. Deb Fischer, Tom Cotton, Rick Scott, Mike Rounds and Roger Wicker join other Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee to speak about tension between Russian and Ukraine, on Capitol Hill Jan. 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., described the White House meeting as an "instructive and construction discussion."
"I don’t think we surprised the president or Mr. Sullivan or anybody in the administration with what we said. Quite honestly we listened as much as we spoke," he told Fox News Digital.
"We want to have strong bipartisan sanctions," he continued. "But…enough has been done to punch back a little bit. Right now Vladimir Putin is saying ‘thank you Mr. President but words are cheap’ and it's time to demonstrate some action."
Republican Sens. Todd Young, John Cornyn, Kevin Cramer and Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch listen while Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee speak. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Cramer said Biden "raised an important point" and argued that sanctions are not as simple as slapping a fine on Russia; there will be a spill-over effect that will impact U.S. allies and exporters.
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"We have to be thoughtful about it, we have to be committed to it, we have to be clear about it," Cramer said.
Cramer along with several of his colleagues told reporters that party disagreements about sanctions should not be interpreted by Putin as "disunity in our resolve to stand with the people of Ukraine and to stand with freedom."
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