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Washington, D.C. – Congressmen Michael McCaul, Republican Leader on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Eliot Engel, the Committee’s Chairman, released the below statement condemning President Vladimir Putin’s offer to send Russian military assistance to Belarus, amid ongoing peaceful protests against last Sunday’s disputed presidential election.

 
“We stand with the people of Belarus as they continue to exercise their rights to protest and to demand a freer, more democratic country; their voices must be heard. Likewise, as the Kremlin tries to undermine yet another European country’s sovereignty and independence, we strongly condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reckless offer to provide military assistance to the Lukashenko regime in Belarus. We urge the Administration to continue to reject Moscow’s aggression and to work with our European allies to support the Belarusian people, to demand the thousands of detained peaceful demonstrators and political prisoners are released, to condemn the Belarusian authorities’ excessive use of violence, and to defend Belarus’s sovereign right to chart its own future.”

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