Speaking in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service in Kyiv on December 30 along with two other U.S. senators, Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) said any possible deal with Mr. Putin “would interfere with and undermine the freedom and democracies that exist today.”
The U.S. Congress imposed sanctions on Moscow shortly after Russia forcibly annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and for its ongoing support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Congress would pursue in 2017 more sanctions against Russia, targeting the energy and banking sectors, as well as “Putin and his inner circle.”
“We’re going to do two things: We’re going after Putin harder with tougher sanctions and we’re going to be more helpful to our friends, like here in Ukraine,” Sen. Graham said.
Sens. McCain, Graham and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said there is strong support in Congress to provide Ukraine with “lethal defensive weapons” to help Kyiv in its fight against Russia-backed separatists in the east.
The senators faulted Moscow for failing to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk accords – a February 2015 agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,750 people have died since April 2014.
“How can you have a free and fair election or debate about the power-sharing with eastern Ukraine when you have 700 Russian tanks [in eastern Ukraine]?” Sen. Graham said.
Asked whether Mr. Trump may recognize Crimea as part of Russia, Sen. Graham said Congress would block any such move. “The president alone can’t do this. And the reason the Congress will reject such a notion is because it undermines the rule of law,” he explained.
Sen. McCain also called for tougher action against Moscow for its alleged involvement in hacks into Democratic Party e-mails before the November 8 U.S. presidential election.
“We can make them a lot tougher, ranging from travel to identifying individuals who have been involved in this hacking and specific organizations. There are a lot more stringent measures we should take,” Sen. McCain said. “After all, it was an attack on the United States of America and an attack on the fundamentals of our democracy. If you destroy the elections, then you destroy democracy.”
U.S. President Barack Obama on December 29 ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over what the administration says was their involvement in the hacking.
Mr. Putin said on December 30 that Moscow would not respond in kind and would not expel any Americans from Russia, accusing the U.S. administration of “irresponsible ‘kitchen’ diplomacy.”
On December 30, President-elect Trump praised the Russian president on Twitter for holding off on retaliatory actions, calling him “very smart.”
Mr. Trump has brushed aside allegations from the CIA and other intelligence agencies that Russia was behind the cyberattacks. But it is unclear whether he will seek to roll back President Obama’s actions.
“If you have a hard time figuring out who is behind this, that doesn’t speak well of you,” Sen. Graham said. “The Russians are doing it all over the world.”
Sen. Klobuchar said it wasn’t only the United States that was being targeted by Russian cyberattacks.
“We have learned on this trip visiting Estonia and Lithuania and hearing about these cyberattacks in Ukraine – it has happened for years and years and years. And it’s a technique that can be used in the French elections or the German elections,” Sen. Klobuchar said, referring to two key upcoming elections in Europe in 2017.
Senators conclude Georgia visit
RFE/RL’s Georgia Service reported on January 2 that Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and a delegation of U.S. senators discussed the Caucasus country’s aspirations for joining Western institutions and the Georgian-U.S. strategic relationship in Tbilisi.
The president’s office said Mr. Margvelashvili thanked Sens. McCain, Graham and Klobuchar for their support of Georgia’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” during talks in the Georgian capital.
The senators included talks on their two-day trip with Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Foreign Affairs Minister Mikheil Janelidze. Sen. McCain said he also met with some opposition leaders.
The U.S. delegation stopped on January 2 at the NATO-Georgian Joint Training and Evaluation Center near Tbilisi and earlier at Khurvaleti, the boundary with the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia that has been controlled by Russian forces since a brief war was fought in 2008.
“Our message is that 2017 will be a year of ‘more’ – more American military support, more trade, more economic integration and more push-back against Russia for the aggression not only here, but throughout the world, more sanctions,” Sen. Graham said. “Now is the time to let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin know that we as a world have had enough.”
Sen. McCain added: “It is clear that Russia has attacked the United States of America; all of our intelligence agencies will affirm that that’d been the case. We will work in the Congress to have stronger sanctions [against Russia] in order to prevent further attacks on the United States of America.”