Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which happened last month, was a very disgusting thing to hear about. Such action in Russia or by Russia is not unprecedented. In 2015, the leading democracy advocate in Russia, Boris Nemtsov, was gunned down within the sight of the Kremlin. The square in front of the Russian Embassy in Washington is now named in his honor, echoing the effort that I led to name the street in front of the old Russian Embassy after the dissident Andrei Sakharov. Nemtsov's protege in the Russian opposition, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was then poisoned--poisoned twice but miraculously survived and continues to work for Russian democracy. The good news is that Mr. Navalny is reportedly conscious. Now, a silver lining may also be that Putin's latest attempted assassination is bringing our allies toward a consensus to treat Putin as a pariah. There are reports of senior German politicians reconsidering their support for Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which divides our European allies. This pipeline is opposed by countries like Poland and the Baltics that truly understand that Putin will use it as a strategic influence tool, as well as by the Trump administration and bipartisan majorities in Congress. I hope all of these happenings are a start of a new era of cooperation with our Russian allies to counter Russian influence. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.…”