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WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the world watches the crisis in Ukraine, Congressional members said the Russian invasion demonstrates the need to create and maintain our allies to help keep the U.S. safe.
“In our efforts to stop Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine to make sure that Putin does not succeed in this, we could not possibly do it on our own,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D- WA). “Clearly and obviously the stronger our partnerships are in the world, the better able we are to bring pressure against Russia and to support Ukraine in this effort.”
Within a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, the international community has pushed back on Russia’s aggression through financial sanctions, resolutions condemning Russia’s actions and providing Ukraine with weapons. With the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the center, the House Armed Services Committee is looking at how our allies and international partnerships contribute to our national security efforts.
“It enhances our diplomatic efforts to promote peace,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R- AL). “It strengthens our global presence and it improves our ability to defend ourselves and our allies. These programs have proven successful in countering terrorism and positioning us to prevail in the great power competition in countries around the globe security system enables insistence enables us to effectively confront malign influence of China and Russia.”
The Department of Defense said in order for our security to have a lasting impact, we need to help our allies through ways other than providing training and equipment.
“We aim to help partners with not only specific capabilities, but also with institutional integrity, and an ability to promote our shared values, notably the promotion and protection of human rights and good governance and legitimacy of the security sector,” said Dr. Mara Karlin with the DoD. “Resilient partnerships thrive when values and deeds align security cooperation aims to uphold that approach.”
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, officials said China is watching how the world reacts and strengthening our partnerships with other countries like Japan and South Korea is critical.
“Over the years, commitments like these have created new opportunities for interoperability, new allies to deter aggressive behavior and new partners to help meet global challenges,” said Jessica Lewis with the Department of State.
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