“Right now worldwide, our enemies don’t fear us, our friends don’t trust us and when we show weakness, it emboldens people around the world who are our enemies, whether they’re in Iran, Syria, Russia or North Korea.”
Click Here to Watch Sen. Barrasso.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” this morning to discuss President Obama’s foreign policy agenda, the situation in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
Key excerpts of the interview:
On the Threat from Iran:
“Iran continues to be a huge threat to the people of Israel and specifically I think we have not progressed with the Iranian peace agreement that the president has been focusing on, specifically 83 senators have written to the president about what needs to be in an agreement. It doesn’t seem like they’re coming back to that, so a nuclear armed Iran to me continues to be the bigger pivotal point in that area of the world.”
On Sanctions Against Russia:
“I was in the region this past week, Candy, visiting with leaders in that area. Sanctions need to be consequential. And what we hear are sanctions against individuals. I think we need to go much further than that, sanctions against Russia in terms of their military activities, in terms of arms, in terms of finances, in terms of energy. I have an editorial today with other senators in ‘The Washington Post’ specifically about sanctions, not just about individuals, but also about Russia itself. And then what we need to do long-term in terms of an energy strategy to use our own energy resources as a geopolitical weapon against Putin.”
On Ukraine Having an Immediate Military Need:
“They have an immediate military need. Their prime minister has told me that what they’ve inherited from the last leadership is a hollowed out military where nothing shoots or flies or works. They need weapons and I think we should supply them anti-tank, anti-missile weapons.”
On Russia Using Energy Prices to Hold Ukraine Hostage:
“And in terms of the energy component of this, they’re held hostage by Russia. Russia increased the price of natural gas 44% on the people of the Ukraine just this past month. So Putin continues to use energy as both a carrot and a stick, not just for the Ukraine, but also in the Baltics as well as in Europe.”
On President Obama’s Foreign Policy:
“Right now worldwide, our enemies don’t fear us, our friends don’t trust us and when we show weakness, it emboldens people around the world who are our enemies, whether they’re in Iran, Syria, Russia or North Korea.”
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