Washington, D.C. - August 24, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement ahead of Secretary Mattis’s trip to Kiev tomorrow, urging the Trump administration to provide lethal defensive assistance to Ukraine:
“Secretary Mattis's visit to Kiev provides yet another opportunity for the United States to correct its policy toward Ukraine and provide the lethal defensive assistance the country needs to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Earlier this week, President Trump took a step forward when he changed course and departed from his predecessor's failed policy in Afghanistan. The President now has the same opportunity with regard to Ukraine.
“It is long past time for the United States to provide Ukraine the defensive lethal assistance it needs to deter and defend against further Russian aggression. Raising the cost of aggression may help to change Vladimir Putin's calculus, pressure Russia to fully comply with the Minsk agreements, and, ultimately, create more stable security conditions on the ground that are essential for peace. In other words, providing defensive lethal assistance to Ukraine is not opposed to a peaceful resolution of this conflict – it is essential to achieving it. As long as the status quo remains, Russia has no reason to change its behavior, and we should only expect more violence and more death.
“Several weeks ago, the President took the first significant step toward imposing costs on Russian aggression when he signed into law new sanctions passed by Congress. Changing U.S. policy to provide lethal defensive assistance to Ukraine would be another step in the right direction – sending a strong signal that the United States will stand by the sovereign right of its allies and partners to choose their own future.”
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