Senator Wicker stressed that the United States should under no circumstances give the Kremlin guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not be accepted into NATO.
The US senator said that Russia is controlled by a man who wants to return to the “evil empire” \ photo REUTERS
The US should always strive for diplomacy, but at the same time, now is the right time to show a willingness to supply weapons to Ukraine, ensuring it is able to defend itself.
This was stated in an interview with CNN by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, Voice of America reports .
According to Wicker, the diplomatic talks between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov can be used by the Russian side to “play for time.”
“You need to look at this in the context of Russia’s past actions: in 2014 Russia seized Crimea, then invaded the eastern part of Ukraine, and in 2008 there was an invasion of two regions of Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia – ed.). Russia is controlled by a man who wants to return the “evil empire” that Ronald Reagan spoke about,” said the 70-year-old senator, who remembers the days of the Cold War. “And while we are talking about de-escalation, we are seeing further escalation from Russia: elite troops, very close to [Ukraine’s] capital Kiev, but also dangerously close to Poland, which is a NATO ally… It seems to me that now is the time to send some of our tanks to Poland, closer to the border, in order to be able to protect our NATO ally.”
Roger Wicker stressed that the United States should in no case give the Kremlin guarantees of refusing the option of accepting Ukraine and Georgia into NATO.
“The reason why 100,000 Russian troops are concentrated along the eastern border of Ukraine, and other troops are also entering Belarus, which is a good neighbor [of Russia], is that Putin is up to something,” Wicker notes. [a plan] for a massive attack on Kiev, or preparations for a coup d’etat [in Ukraine].”
The legislator clarified that the bipartisan position of the US Senate is the unacceptability of such a policy by Putin.
“The United States Senate supports the right of … [Ukraine] to make its own decision as to whether it should be a free country, oriented towards the free market and the West, or move back to the Soviet Union,” the senator stressed.
According to the politician, US President Joe Biden made a mistake by excluding the introduction of US troops into Ukraine unilaterally.
“Our response should show [Putin] that he will regret his actions,” Wicker added.
The senator compared Putin to a hooligan who bullies everyone and who has never “been smashed in the nose”, but we are talking about “murders, poisonings and invasion of neighbors.”
“I think that the people of Ukraine will resist anyway,” Roger Wicker concluded. “And this will be a mistake for Putin, which he will long regret.”
Kurt Volker, the former Special Representative of the US State Department for Ukraine, shared his views on the events in Ukraine with CNN. In his opinion, Putin is ready to go for a military invasion, but at the same time he is exploring how far he can go through negotiations, which are also a way to “play for time.”
“Putin has made specific demands. He wants the West to recognize that [the countries] around Russia are its sphere of influence, in connection with which Ukraine does not have full sovereignty, can never become a member of NATO,” Volker said. “I think that he is trying to assemble parts of the former Russian empire by reattaching them to Russia, and his attempts coincide with the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union.
Volker admitted that, given the transfer of Russian troops to the border with Ukraine and Belarus, as well as the sending of Russian Navy ships with amphibious assault forces to the Black Sea, Russia would be ready for an invasion by early February.
According to Kurt Volker, diplomacy in relations with Russia plays an important role, but it must be backed up by force. He added that the right thing to do now would be to send a lot more weapons and trainers to Ukraine to bolster defenses, and send more US and other NATO allies to the Baltics and Poland, as well as warships to the Black Sea.
“I think we should take action to show that the cost to Russia would be too high if it invaded,” Volker said. these draconian measures that blackmail is unacceptable here.”
(C)UNIAN 2022
Mr Wicker could be a great president. He has integrity, like the late John McCain.
We have great senators, and awful presidents.
Where are all the Knuts, Joes and Berts? Take a fucking look at Ukraine’s situation since the Dems are back. Under Obama we had annexations, now under Biden we may witness the end of the ukrainian state. The left must be wiped once and for all! They are as evil as the nazis!
Don’t forget Slavko and Dmitry. They all are hopeless, blind leftists. I’ve battled with each one of them over Merkel, Germany, Biden, Obumer and so forth. They did not see it coming that the leftists in Berlin and Washington would throw Ukraine under the bus. Of course, now, that it has become too obvious that I was right, they don’t admit their mistakes, nor do they apologize for them.
I told them all many times that they were blinded by their hatred and I still believe it. Politics clouds minds and hearts and the Left is governed by emotions instead of logic. They were convinced Trump was a Russian agent while all along it was Hillary that was working with the Kremlin to boost her campaign.
Numerous members of Congress know the truth and want the US to be stronger engaged in helping Ukraine and stopping the crime syndicate. However, we have had a string of God-awful presidents. That’s part of the reason why mafia land is still in the game to cause trouble and mayhem.