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In a controversial congressional hearing Tuesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Told Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that US support for Ukraine’s accession to NATO had contributed to Russia’s decision to invade. Blinken vehemently objected to Paul’s remarks, which were also criticized by Russian experts.
Paul, a libertarian MP and longtime critic of US foreign policy, said both the Republican and Democratic administrations had “campaigned” for Ukraine to join the security bloc, a result Russian President Vladimir Putin called a red line.
“Although there is no excuse for Putin’s war against Ukraine, that does not mean there is no explanation for the invasion,” Paul told Blinken during a hearing on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “You can also claim that the countries he attacked were … part of the Soviet Union,” the senator said; Putin has long wanted a “sphere of influence” over former Soviet states.
Blinken, recently at a meeting with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv earlier this week, noted that NATO maintains an open door policy. He said it was “absolutely clear” that Putin based his invasion on the belief that Ukraine did not deserve to be a sovereign nation. Kyiv’s status as a former Soviet republic does not mean it loses the right to choose its own foreign policy, Blinken added.
The top US diplomat also said the Kremlin had not responded meaningfully to Washington’s attempts to allay Putin’s national security concerns before the invasion.
“We senators will not be more Ukrainians than Ukrainians,” Blinken said. “Our goal is to make sure that they have in their hands the ability to repel Russian aggression and really strengthen their hand at a possible negotiating table.”
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Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Windman, director of European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council during the Trump administration, criticized Paul’s remarks. “By this logic, Britain is justified in attacking the United States and the colonial powers, their former possessions. What age does he live in? ”Windman said.
Charles Booker, who wants the Democratic nomination to run against Paul in November, accused his opponent of “pushing Putin’s propaganda in the Senate”.
This reflects the 2017 attack from the then Sen. John McCain, who accused Paul of “working for Vladimir Putin.” Paul drew the anger of the Arizona Republican when he tried to block Montenegro’s accession to NATO.
Kelly Cooper, Paul’s spokesman, said in a statement after the hearing that Paul sympathized with Ukraine and had made clear his support for Kyiv’s struggle.
Paul had previously become entangled with Blinken during meetings of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Last year, he annoyed the secretary with a drone strike during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which killed 10 civilians.
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