Senator Blunt Urges President Obama To Address Blatant Pattern Of Russian Intimidation, Repression

Senator Roy Blunt

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) sent a letter to President Barack Obama this week expressing his concern for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “broader pattern of blatant intimidation and authoritarianism,” as demonstrated by Putin’s ban on U.S. adoptions and the recent expulsion of a Russian lawmaker from his party after he met with Blunt and other U.S. lawmakers in April 2013 to improve relations between the two countries.

“Last month I had the opportunity to visit with Russian opposition lawmaker named Dmitry Gudkov, who was in the United States in an effort to improve relations between our countries. During our visit we discussed the Russian Government’s recent ban on U.S. adoptions, among other important matters. When he returned to Russia, Mr. Gudkov was expelled from his party and accused of treason for discussing these matters with American lawmakers,” wrote Blunt. “I’m deeply concerned about Russia’s further slide into authoritarianism and believe that the United States should provide international leadership that both calls attention to this behavior and take steps to address it.”

On January 18, 2013, Blunt joined a bipartisan coalition of more than 70 House and Senate members in sending a letter to Putin urging him to reverse a law banning the adoption of Russian children by American families. Blunt and his colleagues also sent a separate letter to President Obama urging him to help American families by encouraging the Russian government to complete cases that were pending before the adoption ban took effect.

On January 1, 2013, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution introduced by Blunt and U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (La.) strongly condemning President Putin’s ban on the adoption of Russian children by Americans families and urging the Russian government to reconsider the law.

Putin’s outrageous ban came explicitly in response to Congress’s decision to hold Russian officials responsible for the illegal imprisonment and murder of Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky in 2009. The human rights provision was included as part of the Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) bill in December 2012, which Blunt strongly supported.

To read the letter, please click here or see below:

April 8, 2013

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Last month I had the opportunity to visit with Russian opposition lawmaker named Dmitry Gudkov, who was in the United States in an effort to improve relations between our countries. During our visit we discussed the Russian Government’s recent ban on U.S. adoptions, among other important matters. When he returned to Russia, Mr. Gudkov was expelled from his party and accused of treason for discussing these matters with American lawmakers.

This behavior by the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin fits into a broader pattern of blatant intimidation and authoritarianism that has wrecked most of Russia’s fledgling political and civic institutions in recent years. It is virtually impossible to operate an independent business, political party, or charitable organization in Russia today without harassment, imprisonment, or even physical injury by Russian authorities. In short, Russia has effectively turned into a repressive regime.

I’m deeply concerned about Russia’s further slide into authoritarianism and believe that the United States should provide international leadership that both calls attention to this behavior and takes steps to address it. That is why I supported, along with many of my colleagues in the Senate, legislation to give the administration the tools it needs to sanction Russian human rights violators. That legislation, known as the Sergei Magnitsky Act, is now law.

Unfortunately, little in our current Russia policy appears to be achieving results. While Russia’s cooperation on Iran sanctions seems to have improved marginally, Russia continues to occupy significant portions of the Republic of Georgia, aid and abet the illegitimate Assad regime’s civilian slaughter in Syria, and use its energy supplies to politically blackmail our European partners. I believe these actions, combined with Russia’s dismal record on human rights and its recent use of thousands of orphans as geopolitical pawns, demonstrate the need for stronger American leadership.

The administration should raise the profile of human rights and political freedoms as serious bilateral challenges in our relationship with Russia. At the very least, the State Department should carefully monitor and respond to political intimidation of the kind that Mr. Gudkov was subjected to when he returned from the United States.

Additionally, the administration should work with international bodies such as the European Court on Human Rights and the European Commissioner on Human Rights to press for stricter rules regarding protections for the international adoption process. The Russian Government’s willingness to use orphaned children as political pawns is outrageous and it is my hope that this administration will use its offices both publicly and privately to call attention to this problem.

I believe we share the view that Russia’s success as a responsible stakeholder in the international community is both desirable and dependent on Russia’s coming into alignment with important international laws and norms. Thank you for your attention to these important challenges.

Sincere regards,

Roy Blunt
United States Senator

Cc: John Kerry, Secretary of State hairy girl buy over the counter medicines www.zp-pdl.com zp-pdl.com займы на карту без отказа