Tension between the United States and Russia continues to increase as reports indicate that Russia overtaking Ukraine is imminent. Moreover, in a speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two pro-Moscow territories as independent, which political pundits indicate could set forth an invasion. In response, GOP officials have largely blamed President Joe Biden (D) for the political tension, and Florida Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R) released a statement, calling it “the results of a feckless foreign policy of appeasement.”
A sharp critic of the Biden Administration, Rep. Diaz Balart further criticized the President, expressing that “as one of his first acts in office, President Biden ended the Keystone XL, a pipeline that would have increased our energy production, created American jobs, and lowered energy and gasoline costs for Americans while decreasing dependence on Russian oil.”
In contrast, the Florida lawmaker said that “President Biden allowed Nord Stream 2 to continue, greatly expanding Russia’s oil export capacity and its leverage over Europe,” adding that “this weakness is dangerous for Americans and our allies and now is being exploited by our adversaries.”
Calling the world “a much more dangerous place today than before President Biden took office,” Diaz Balart commented that “after Afghanistan, Ukraine, and negotiations toward an Iran Deal, I shudder at the thought of three more years of incompetence, weakness, and appeasement from the current administration.”
In response to Putin’s announcement, President Biden has assured that the United States will be imposing new sanctions on trade and financing in the territories.
The President said he would be signing an executive order, prohibiting “new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine.”
Putin has not responded to the sanctions, but officials are warning that invasion could take place as early as this week.
