[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S834-S835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Russia

  Mr. President, I want to talk about the European Union's approach to 
Russia. We know that in February, the Russian Government sentenced 
Alexei Navalny, a very prominent opposition leader to Mr. Putin, to 
almost 3 years in prison. And shortly afterward, Mr. Putin directed 
that thousands of Mr. Navalny's supporters who were protesting be 
arrested.
  What was he--what were his supporters--arrested for? Criticizing Mr. 
Putin. Navalny's imprisonment comes in the wake of his near-fatal 
poisoning, about which we have all read. And what happened to Mr. 
Navalny should be a wake-up call to our friends in Europe. It is 
certainly a wake-up call to the American people.
  This isn't the first time that Mr. Putin has tried to get rid of a 
dissident. Unfortunately, it probably won't be the last. For years, 
Russia has been making trouble, both at home and abroad. Mr. Putin has 
made trouble here in America, about which we all know. Domestically, 
opponents of Mr. Putin have been arrested. They have died in prison. In 
some cases, they have been murdered. We all know that.
  Now, if this is how Mr. Putin is going to treat his own people, 
imagine how he would and has treated foreign countries, particularly 
our friends in Europe. Russia has launched an unjustified invasion of 
Georgia. It still controls large parts of Georgian territory. In 2014, 
Mr. Putin invaded Ukraine. He illegally annexed the Crimea. He started 
a war in Eastern Ukraine. It cost about 14,000 lives.
  But Russia's aggression--Mr. Putin's aggression--and let me say, I am 
not impugning the people of Russia. They are wonderful people. I admire 
them deeply. But their leadership, their political leadership, is 
lacking. And Mr. Putin's aggression begs the question: If NATO troops 
did not stand in the way, what else would Russia do? Who knows what 
would happen to Poland and the Baltic States and other countries that 
were once part of the Soviet sphere.
  The Economist puts it this way--I am going to quote:

       Russia's gangsterism has become impossible to ignore.
       Russia's gangsterism has become impossible to ignore.

  But our friends in Europe seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.
  The Navalny case shows that criticizing the Kremlin comes with a 
cost, but it is a cost that we and the European Union can and must bear 
because the price of appeasement is too high. And our European friends 
can do it, taken as a group. Senator Schumer knows this. The EU's power 
surpasses Russia's by far. The EU is a bloc of 450 million people. Its 
GDP is nine times larger than Russia's.
  Russia's economy is only slightly bigger than Spain's, and it is 
smaller than the economy of Italy. A lot of people don't realize this, 
but Russia--look, I will concede them this: They have nuclear weapons 
and good spies. But the economy of Russia is smaller than the economy 
of New York State. So why is Europe so content to be bullied?
  I am going to give you a quick case in point. Josep Borrell visited 
Russia following Navalny's imprisonment. Mr. Borrell is the EU's top 
foreign affairs official. He allowed--stood there and allowed--Russian 
Foreign Minister Lavrov--I know Mr. Lavrov. Perhaps you have met him, 
Mr. President. I understand his personality. He doesn't exhaust himself 
trying to win friends. But Mr. Borrell, representing the EU, its top 
foreign official in foreign affairs, stood there and allowed Foreign 
Minister Lavrov to push him around shamelessly. The Russian Foreign 
Minister insulted the EU. He called it an unreliable partner while 
Borrell stood there and said nothing--nothing.
  Another example, Germany. Germany is still supporting construction of 
the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, a project that is going to leave Europe 
even more reliant on Russian oil and gas. We are going backward here. 
This is going to make the EU even more vulnerable to Russian influence 
because we know that a more independent Europe becomes--the more Europe 
becomes dependent on Russian energy, the more reluctant it will be to 
defend itself against its neighbor's bullying.

[[Page S835]]

  I don't want to beat this point to death. America is ready to do its 
part. We have imposed sanctions on Mr. Putin. I support President 
Biden's attempt to engage our friends in Europe and our effort to try 
to convince China to become a stable part of world order, but we 
shouldn't forget to do the same thing with respect to Mr. Putin. Mr. 
Putin's aggression should teach us something: What you allow is what 
will continue
  I yield the floor to the distinguished Senator from New York.