Sen. Ted Cruz slammed the Obama administration’s approach to the Ukraine crisis, saying the White House should take a more aggressive role to shore up the nation’s defenses against Russia.
The Texas Republican said the strategy employed by the United States and Germany “makes no sense, and it isn’t working. It is long past time for us to step forward and provide defensive weapons.”
The comments from Cruz, who was speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” from the Munich Security Conference in Germany, come as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have been negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine has accused Putin of backing rebels in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to absorb that area into Russia. Putin has denied involvement.
Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at the Munich event, issued a warning to Putin that the U.S. would not tolerate Russian meddling in Ukraine.
“Russia needs to understand as long as it continues its current course, the United States and, God willing, all of Europe and the international community will continue to impose costs for violations of basic international norms,” Biden said.
