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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.