House Leaders Commend Passage of Resolution Supporting Ukrainian People

Statement

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Conference Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA), and Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-IL) released the following statement commending House passage of H. Res. 447, a resolution supporting the Ukrainian people:

"We commend the House's overwhelming passage of H. Res. 447, a bipartisan resolution expressing support for the Ukrainian people's struggle to build an independent, democratic, and strong Ukraine that is free from foreign meddling. We call upon the Ukrainian government to exercise restraint and respect the democratic wishes of the people, and we call upon all sides to avoid violence. While we are encouraged by the partial repeal of recently enacted anti-democratic measures, we continue to urge the Government of Ukraine to uphold all democratic rights of Ukrainian citizens. We look forward to supporting Ukraine's continued involvement in the Eastern Partnership, an important program to promote economic cooperation, human rights, democratic values, and the rule of law.

"We are also concerned about reports that Russia is behind recent intercepts and disclosures of American and European diplomatic communications, a clear violation of international norms of diplomacy aimed at dividing the United States and Europe, whose support for an independent and democratic Ukraine threatens Vladimir Putin's cold war-era zero sum foreign policy."