Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued this statement following the announcements of U.S. and EU sanctions against individuals responsible for Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
“Today’s announcements will be heard in Moscow. The U.S. and our European partners must quickly ramp up pressure on Vladimir Putin and his accomplices to show that their aggression in Crimea and beyond will hurt personally. Putin has engineered this confrontation. We should show him and his accomplices that they will pay a heavy price if they don’t respect Ukraine’s sovereignty. The stronger card that needs to be played is breaking Putin’s energy grip on Ukraine and eastern Europe."
Note: Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed H. Res. 499, authored by Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, which condemns the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russian forces, endorsing Russian sanctions and calling on the U.S. to promote increased gas exports to reduce Vladimir Putin’s leverage.
The statement Chairman Royce issued Saturday, following Russia’s veto of a U.N.
