Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined fellow Finance Committee members Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), alongside seven of their Senate colleagues, to demand that President Donald Trump maintain trade restrictions on Russia as Moscow wages its unjustified, unprovoked, and unlawful war in Ukraine.
“Vladimir Putin is a ruthless dictator who has led the Russian Federation into a war of aggression against Ukraine with the explicit goal of denying Ukraine and its people their collective rights to independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” wrote Bennet, Masto, Wyden, and the senators. “Our country, in coordination with our allies and partners and with bipartisan support has imposed sweeping financial sanctions, stringent export controls, and aggressive trade restrictions on the Russian Federation.”
In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Congress passed legislation revoking Russia’s permanent normal trade relations status to ensure Russian goods and services do not enjoy privileged access to the U.S. market. Congress also passed a bill banning the importation of energy products from Russia.
“In light of your worrisome statements, we wish to remind you that you must not—and cannot, under statute—attempt to restore normal trade relations or lift the import ban on Russian energy products unless and until Ukraine’s peace demands are met and their free and independent government has accepted a peace agreement,” continued the senators. “Ukraine must be at the table to determine its future, and conditions for peace cannot be imposed on Ukraine.”
In their letter, the senators emphasized that Russia’s exportation of goods enables Moscow to wage its unlawful war on Ukraine. They called on President Trump to uphold Congress’s trade restrictions with Russia until Russia reaches an agreement with Ukraine on the withdrawal of its forces and cessation of military hostilities, recognizes the right of the Ukrainian people to freely choose their own government, and poses no immediate military threat to any NATO member.
Bennet has been a consistent advocate for Ukraine since Russia launched its unjustified and unlawful full-scale invasion in 2022. In February, he joined a bipartisan congressional delegation to Kyiv, Ukraine. He also visited Lviv, Ukraine with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate colleagues in February 2024.
In addition to Bennet, Masto, and Wyden, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) signed the letter.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear President Trump:
Vladimir Putin is a ruthless dictator who has led the Russian Federation into a war of aggression against Ukraine with the explicit goal of denying Ukraine and its people their collective rights to independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Our country, in coordination with our allies and partners and with bipartisan support has imposed sweeping financial sanctions, stringent export controls, and aggressive trade restrictions on the Russian Federation.
In April 2022, Democrats and Republicans in Congress passed two significant pieces of bipartisan legislation: the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act (Pub. L. 117-110) and the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act (Pub. L. 117-109). The former revoked Russia’s permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status to ensure Russian goods and services do not enjoy privileged, “most-favored nation” access to the U.S. market, and the latter banned the importation of all energy products from the Russian Federation. Both laws recognize that the Russian Federation’s exportation of goods, particularly in the energy sector, is central to its ability to wage its war of aggression on Ukraine.
The language in these laws is clear. Though they provide the President the ability to restore normal trade relations and lift the import ban on Russian energy products, respectively, Congress purposefully set a high bar for these actions. Specifically, Congress mandated that the Russian Federation must: reach an agreement relating to the withdrawal of its forces and cessation of military hostilities that is accepted by the free and independent government of Ukraine; recognize the right of the people of Ukraine to independently and freely choose their own government; and pose no immediate military threat of aggression to any North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member.
We will not allow you to usurp congressional authority. Over the past few weeks, you have made baseless claims that show a fundamental misunderstanding of this conflict. You have erroneously claimed that Ukraine “should have never started [the war]”, despite the fact that there is no doubt that Russia’s army crossed Ukraine’s border in February 2022 and illegally annexed Crimea nearly a decade prior. You have called Ukraine’s democratically-elected president a “dictator”, while praising Russia’s dictator as “a very smart guy.” And last week you staged a press conference in an attempt to publicly coerce Ukraine to accept peace under Russia-dictated terms.
In light of your worrisome statements, we wish to remind you that you must not—and cannot, under statute—attempt to restore normal trade relations or lift the import ban on Russian energy products unless and until Ukraine’s peace demands are met and their free and independent government has accepted a peace agreement. Ukraine must be at the table to determine its future, and conditions for peace cannot be imposed on Ukraine.
We will be unwavering in our support for a secure, democratic, and sovereign Ukraine, free to choose its own leaders and make its own future. We encourage you to do the same.