Kyiv, September 1, 2014 – “My personal perspective is that Ukraine should be given defensive weapons so that it can ultimately defend itself from the Russian aggression that it is facing”, says Robert Menendez, the U.S. Senator for New Jersey, Democratic party, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
“After I am back in the U.S., I look forward to make this case in the Senate and in the President Obama’s Administration. I also want to bring this issue to closer attention of the Congress, as we are facing multiple challenges in Iraq and elsewhere. I will urge them to both consider broadening and deepening the sanctions on Russian economy and proving the Ukrainian government with adequate defensive weapons”, says Mr. Menendez.
After being asked to characterize current events in Ukraine in one word, the U.S. Senator has said, that he has no doubt that this is an invasion. “You can have all the euphemism in the world, but when thousands of troops march into another country with columns of tanks, armored vehicles and some of the most sophisticated weaponry that exists, from my perspective, that’s an invasion!”, stated Robert Menendez.
The U.S. Senator has also commented on the negotiations that are currently taking place in Minsk saying that Ukraine has shown its readiness for the diplomatic way out of crisis: “It has not been Ukraine that was unwilling to find a peaceful way forward, it has been Russia. They have influenced the situation from the very beginning – it is their troops that have invaded here, it is their weaponry that has killed Ukrainian soldiers, it is their efforts that have created the invasion that is taking place, so they need to be the ones to recognize that it is time to restore the international order once again”.