Political Quotes

“This en bloc includes two of my amendments. The first amendment provides an incentive for NATO member countries to align their policies on defense exports to Russia with the restrictions that the United States has imposed. As of March 1st, the United States stopped approving licenses of munitions and dual-use items to Russia if they would be used by the Russian military. The U.S. restrictions would apply to any defense items of other countries if they contain U.S. components. While several European governments have imposed restrictions similar to ours, neither NATO nor the European Union has moved to restrict defense exports to Russia that are not covered by the U.S. restrictions. This raises the disturbing prospect that a NATO member could transfer military items to Russia during this dangerous period when Russia forcibly occupies Ukrainian territory in Crimea or, worse, could seize territory in the Baltics, the Balkans or elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The risk is real. For example, France has a contract to provide Russia with two Mistral-class helicopter assault ships, the first one to be delivered as early as this October. These warships would significantly strengthen Russia's ability to launch an amphibious attack. Under my amendment, if a NATO member country transfers significant defense items to Russia, inconsistent with the restrictions that the U.S. has imposed, then there would be a ``presumption of denial'' for applications to export U.S.…”