[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 9, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4006-S4007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Russia

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I come to the floor in advance of next 
week's summit in Geneva during which President Biden will meet with 
Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time as Commander in 
Chief, and I would like to share my views on the current state of U.S.-
Russian relations and how we must respond to the Kremlin's continued 
aggression.
  I have spent years deeply engaged in efforts to hold Russia 
accountable for its aggressive and destabilizing behavior under Putin.
  During the Obama administration, I worked to hold Russia accountable 
for its invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, I was sanctioned by Putin himself 
for taking up the cause of Ukrainian sovereignty and freedom.
  During the 2016 election cycle, I sounded the alarm over Russian 
efforts to sow chaos in our elections long before we knew of the extent 
and sophistication of the Russian cyber campaign to undermine American 
democracy.
  Throughout the previous administration, I called out President Trump 
for cowering to Putin at every turn. Trump's refusal to hold Putin to 
account for attacking our elections was a key motivator behind the 
Senate's passage of the Countering America's Adversaries Through 
Sanctions Act, otherwise known as CAATSA. This comprehensive framework 
for oversight and accountability in U.S. policy towards Russia remains 
the law of the land and the guiding mandate for how the United States 
must respond to Kremlin aggression.
  Now, I appreciate the Biden administration's desire for a stable and 
predictable relationship with Russia, but sometimes we don't get to 
choose the circumstances of our engagement. When we take stock of 
Russia's behavior in recent years, we see that in every arena Putin has 
chosen escalation over stability and predictability.
  Next week in Geneva, I have every expectation that President Biden 
will be more assertive with Putin than his predecessor. I urge him to 
seize this opportunity to call out the Kremlin for its litany of 
aggressive actions and announce appropriate measures in response.
  The President can start with Russia's growing aggression in cyber 
space, starting with last year's SolarWinds cyber attack. We know that 
Putin's foreign intelligence service orchestrated this attack and that 
he must be held accountable for it as well as the more recent hack of 
USAID and its network of contractors and grantees.
  While I am unaware of any evidence that the most recent ransomware 
attacks on U.S. infrastructure were orchestrated by the Russian state, 
we know, however, that criminal gangs operate on Russian soil, and we 
believe that it is those criminal gangs that did such attacks. The 
United States has to make clear that harboring criminals who seek to 
attack American businesses, hospitals, pipelines, city governments, and 
other institutions is wholly unacceptable
  Let me move on to Ukraine. I urge President Biden to reiterate our 
policy of nonrecognition of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and a 
call for a serious return to the negotiations to end the war in the 
Donbas. The United States must have a seat at the table in the Normandy 
Format and make a concerted effort to end the war on Ukrainian soil 
that has gone on for far too long. An acceptable resolution to this 
conflict will not come without robust U.S. engagement the likes of 
which we have not seen for years.
  I am glad that President Zelensky will visit Washington in the next 
month or so, and we look forward to meeting him in the Senate.
  NATO, too, shares a responsibility to take concrete steps next week 
in support of Ukraine. The essential security assistance provided by 
the United States and others must be backed up by tangible progress 
towards NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. The door was opened 13 
years ago at the Bucharest summit. We have seen little progress since 
then. As these countries continue to pursue the necessary reforms 
necessary for ultimate entrance into NATO, NATO has an obligation to 
start the membership action plan process.
  On Nord Stream, the administration should reconsider sanctions 
waivers on NS2 AG and Matthias Warnig. If the pipeline is completed, 
the United States should work to ensure that it does not become 
operational. This pipeline is a bad deal for Europe and its energy 
security and strongly opposed by citizens across the European 
continent. Despite what some have said, it is not too late for the 
United States to make a tangible difference here. We can stop this 
malign Kremlin influence project if we act with resolve and real 
diplomatic strategy.
  Last week, Putin said that Ukraine must show good will--Ukraine must 
show good will--if it wants gas to flow through to Europe. So what is 
Putin's definition of ``good will'' exactly? For the people of Ukraine 
to cease defending their sovereignty? Such bellicose statements tell us 
that Putin is confident; he is emboldened. Does anyone really believe 
that Putin would not cut off gas flow through Ukraine once Nord Stream 
is complete? The United States cannot accept this insidious behavior. 
We need a real strategy with respect to Nord Stream.
  In Syria, Russia continues to aid and abet the brutal and criminal 
Assad regime only to secure its own interests; namely, military access 
to the Mediterranean through which it can threaten Europe's southern 
flank. Indeed, last year the United Nations accused Russia itself of 
war crimes in Syria for multiple incidents of launching indiscriminate 
attacks on civilian areas. In 3 years alone, the Syrian Observatory for 
Human Rights estimated that Russian military activities in Syria caused 
nearly 18,000 casualties, including 8,000 civilians.
  Let me be clear. These are war crimes, and there must be 
accountability. Even as President Biden looks for limited ways to 
cooperate with Russia in Syria to try to promote some stability and 
humanitarian access, he must not overlook this grim track record and 
seek to hold Putin to account. The world is watching whether the United 
States will stand up for the vulnerable and the voiceless.
  Let me now turn to the ongoing and tragic repression of the Russian 
people. Earlier this year, the world drew inspiration from the courage 
of Russian protesters who rallied in support of Alexei Navalny and a 
democratic future. We know that it will be the people of Russia, not 
the United States or anyone else, who will steer their struggle for 
democracy and ultimately determine their own destiny. Yet, as 
Americans, we must stand in solidarity with the Russian people.
  I applaud President Biden's commitment to make democracy and human 
rights the centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy, but what does that mean 
for our approach to Russia? First, we must respond to egregious 
chemical weapons attacks whenever and however they take place. The 
Chemical and Biological Weapons Act required the administration to 
announce a new round of

[[Page S4007]]

sanctions by June 2 in response to Russia's chemical weapons attack and 
poisoning of Alexei Navalny. This deadline has passed.
  The Trump administration regularly missed congressionally mandated 
deadlines. I think back to the Skripal attack and how President Trump 
delayed a decision for months. However, I expect better from this 
administration. President Biden and his team must announce these 
sanctions this week, for Putin has shown no remorse for these vile 
actions, and Russia has taken no steps to rectify them.
  A democracy- and human rights-centered foreign policy also means 
countering corruption, so I welcome the White House initiative 
announced last week. Since January, we have seen the President back up 
this commitment by imposing sanctions on corrupt actors from Bulgaria, 
to Albania, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But, moving 
forward, we must do more to focus this tool on Russia, the primary 
source of so much of the corruption we see around the world.
  The most effective sanction on Putin's inner circle of oligarchs is 
to deny them and their families access to the West. We must cut off 
their ability to travel and use the Western financial system to funnel 
the assets they systematically have stolen from the Russian people over 
the course of several decades.
  Alexei Navalny and others, like the Organized Crime and Corruption 
Reporting Project, have done excellent work exposing Putin and his 
cronies. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the European Union 
should evaluate their research and chart a course for action.
  We must also directly engage with the Russian people and make clear 
that our problems are not with them but their government. I urge 
President Biden to make a direct appeal to the Russian people over 
YouTube, communicate our views and concerns to the Russian people, and 
provide his vision for what a positive U.S.-Russia relationship could 
look like. The United States should also increase exchange programs 
with Russia, assuming the Russian Government would allow its people to 
participate
  Unfortunately, everyday Russians' access to fact-based information 
and reporting is dwindling in the face of Kremlin crackdowns on 
journalism and pervasive propaganda. I am especially outraged by the 
Russian Government's decision to label Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 
in Russia as a foreign agent, subject to fines and to being kicked out 
of the country, all for supporting Russian journalists who report on 
the truth--a commodity in short supply in Russia these days. These 
actions are disgraceful. And it is worth noting that, as legitimate 
news sources like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty come under fire in 
Russia, Kremlin propaganda arms like RT and Sputnik continue to operate 
freely here in the United States. We allow them to freely operate, but 
they are Russia state-sponsored enterprises. Perhaps it is time we 
reconsider how easily the Kremlin can disseminate disinformation to the 
American people.
  Meanwhile, several Americans remain unjustly detained in Russia, 
including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. The Kremlin's Kafka-esque 
treatment of American citizens must stop, and President Biden should 
make their return a priority of the visit.
  Finally, our Embassy presence in Moscow faces increasing, growing 
pressure from the Russian authorities as they seek to restrict visas 
for Embassy staff. This has to stop. In my view, if Russian diplomats' 
visas expire here in the United States, then they must leave. 
Extensions should only be granted when we see reciprocity on the 
Russian side. No more games. We have tolerated Kremlin abuse of this 
process for too long, and it has to stop.
  In the short time I have stood on this floor today, I have provided 
but a glimpse of some of the most challenging issues facing the U.S.-
Russia relationship, most of which were ignored by the previous 
administration. President Biden has to correct course and forcefully 
press these matters in Geneva. However, there is one area that demands 
real negotiation with Moscow: the issue of arms control.
  I supported the extension of the New START treaty. It advances U.S. 
interests, constrains Russia's strategic nuclear forces, requires 
stringent verification to ensure Russia meets its commitments, and 
affords us the flexibility needed to maintain a safe, secure, modern, 
and effective nuclear deterrent.
  The question is, With New START extended, where do we go from here? I 
agree with President Biden that establishing a strategic stability 
dialogue with a country capable of destroying the United States is 
essential.
  Russia continues to pursue new destabilizing nuclear systems and 
actively threaten our allies with shorter range nuclear weapons. 
However, we cannot view this challenge solely through a military lens. 
Diplomacy must lead our efforts to reduce nuclear tensions going 
forward, and this summit would be a good place to start.
  Last week, in the Washington Post, former Ambassador to Russia Mike 
McFaul wrote that the Biden administration ``cannot freeze U.S.-Russia 
relations in place to focus on the greater challenge of China.''
  I believe he is right. Addressing one challenge cannot come at the 
expense of other critical U.S. interests.
  Whether we like it or not, the Kremlin clearly sees the United States 
as its primary adversary and remains intent on challenging us at every 
turn. Past administrations have tried to ignore or minimize the threat. 
It doesn't work. We need an assertive and comprehensive strategy, one 
that holds the Kremlin accountable and even puts them on their heels 
from time to time.
  The United States of America always aspires to have a stable, 
predictable relationship with every country around the world. But 
stable and predictable partners do not use chemical weapons to wipe out 
their political opposition. Stable and political partners do not tear 
chunks of territory from their neighbors. Stable and political partners 
don't commit war crimes in places like Syria. Vladimir Putin has been 
President for 20 years now. After all this time, we know what we are 
dealing with; it is not a stable and predictable partner. We are 
dealing with a mafia state run by a vicious authoritarian and his inner 
circle of corrupt oligarchs, not a normal country. We are dealing with 
a criminal enterprise, not a democratic government. And as President 
Biden knows, and has said, when it comes to Putin, we are dealing with 
a ruthless killer. We should act accordingly.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Rosen). The Senator from Iowa