Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after meeting with Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Advisor and Commissioner to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Sanctions Policy, during his visit to Capitol Hill.

"I welcomed today’s conversation with Mr. Vlasiuk and the chance to express my gratitude to him and the Ukrainian people for their brave defense of their territory and our shared democratic values. Mr. Vlasiuk and I share an urgent goal: to support Ukraine and punish Russia. To achieve that I believe Congress must ensure sanctions on Russia are mandatory, not optional, and that Ukraine has the defense capabilities it needs to protect itself.

“Unfortunately, the Senate’s Sanctioning Russia Act does neither. It would instead gift President Trump with virtually unchecked tariff authority and broad discretion to waive sanctions on Russia indefinitely without Congressional oversight. This is a president who has demonstrated time and again that he is eager to weaponize and abuse tariff authority, and unwilling to hold Russia accountable for its aggression.

“I appreciated the opportunity to discuss these concerns with Mr. Vlasiuk and hear his perspective on a path forward. I reaffirmed my willingness to work swiftly and across the aisle on reaching a good-faith compromise that helps the Ukrainian people and holds Russia accountable. The time to negotiate a solution is now.”

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