U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered opening remarks at the 2025 Halifax International Security Forum, addressing key issues in international security and expressing criticism of the Trump Administration’s proposed peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Senator Shaheen characterized the 28-point plan as being overly favorable to Russian interests. "That’s not a compromise, that 28-point peace plan. That’s a plan that Russia wrote to benefit Russia. I think most of us would agree that when you do a peace negotiation, everybody has to give something up. But Russia is not giving anything up. We saw what they did we in Georgia in 2008, what they did in Crimea in 2014, we saw them go into Ukraine, and they’re going to continue if we don’t say, ‘enough,’ and put some pressure on them.”
She further argued for stronger action against Russia: “The only thing Vladimir Putin understands is pressure. What President Trump has failed to do is to put pressure on Putin and the Russian regime to force them to come to the table. Other than the sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, we have done very little to pressure Russia.”
Shaheen advocated for increased military support for Ukraine: “We need to give Ukraine their long-range weapons, more air defenses, we need to give them more planes, and we need to work with Europe to ensure they can face this Russian threat.”
She also highlighted bipartisan efforts within Congress aimed at pressuring countries doing business with Russia: “We have a bill in the United States Senate that has over 85 cosponsors, Republican and Democrat – you never get over 85 cosponsors on a bill in the Senate. It would put significant secondary sanctions on those countries that are still doing business with Russia. We need to pass that bill and President Trump has refused month after month to endorse the bill until recently, and we still haven’t taken it up.”
On NATO expansion limitations proposed by the Trump administration as part of negotiations with Russia she said: “The idea that we’re going to say to NATO that you can’t enlarge any time in the future, when we know there are other countries in Europe that still want to join NATO. Why are we going to handcuff NATO just because Vladimir Putin wants to make sure that Russia is able to continue pursue its ambitious territorial agenda. I think that is just nuts.”
Senator Shaheen expressed confidence her colleagues would share her position: “I certainly do not support this kind of a peace plan and my bet is that a lot of my bipartisan senators who are here members of Congress who have been strongly supportive of Ukraine aren’t going support it either.”
In her formal remarks at Halifax International Security Forum, Shaheen stressed the importance of international cooperation among democracies: “Halifax is recognized as a place where democratic nations come together test assumptions and confront hard issues openly. The mission of this forum is strengthen strategic cooperation among world’s democracies,” she said.
She noted ongoing tensions between Canada and the United States: “Sadly our relations—the U.S. and Canada—have been strained,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “We've seen a wedge created between United States and Canada where share deep cultural political economic social bonds."
Shaheen connected these global discussions back home by noting their direct impact on New Hampshire residents through defense jobs and military partnerships: "For small state like mine in New Hampshire alliances aren't abstract," she said.
Her closing comments emphasized enduring relationships among allies beyond individual political leaders or administrations.
