Sen. Josh Hawley is digesting Russian misinformation and parroting Kremlin talking points by advocating to end the United States’s support for Ukraine joining NATO, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Hawley, a Missouri Republican, released a letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday arguing that the U.S. does not benefit from going to war against Russia should it invade Ukraine.
His comments didn’t sit well with the White House.
HAWLEY ADVOCATES BIDEN ENDING SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE NATO MEMBERSHIP
“Well, if you are digesting Russian misinformation and parroting Russian talking points, you are not aligned with long-standing, bipartisan American values, which are to stand up for the sovereignty of countries like Ukraine,” Psaki said when asked about Hawley’s comments on Wednesday.
Ukraine, as a sovereign country, has a right to choose its own alliances and stand against the efforts of any other country to invade or take territory, Psaki added.
In his letter, Hawley argued that the U.S.’s support for NATO expansion is based on statements made in 2008, in a significantly different world than the foreign politics of 2022. Specifically, he argued that the world has grown more dangerous as “an increasingly powerful China seeks hegemony in the Indo-Pacific,” and he advocated for the U.S. to direct more resources toward dealing with China over Europe.
“The United States has an interest in maintaining Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” Hawley wrote in the letter, which was acquired by Axios. “And we should urgently deliver to Ukraine assistance it needs to defend itself against Russia’s military buildup and other threats. Our interest is not so strong, however, as to justify committing the United States to go to war with Russia over Ukraine’s fate.”
Hawley also condemned Biden’s decision to send conventional troops to Europe to support Ukraine, claiming that such a deployment would “detract from the U.S. military’s ability to ready and modernize forces to deter China in the Indo-Pacific.”
But those comments aid the Russian cause, according to Psaki.
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“That applies to Sen. Hawley, but it also applies to others who may be parroting the talking points of Russian propagandist leaders,” she said.
