For Immediate Release
September 13, 2022
Contact:
Arthur Bryant 202-225-1621
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO), Vice Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, today blasted the reported decision to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a visa to travel to the United States and attend the U.N. General Assembly.
Vice Ranking Member Wagner said on the reported visa approvals: “Sergei Lavrov, as Foreign Minister of Russia, has been actively involved in every stage of Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, and it is unconscionable he would be allowed to participate in the U.N. General Assembly. Vladimir Putin and his cronies have continued to commit evil acts in Ukraine, killing thousands. Russia is indisputably a threat to U.S. and allied security interests, and Russian officials should be treated accordingly.
“All Russian officials must be fully and appropriately punished for their crimes against the Ukrainian people. Russia’s U.N. ‘delegation’ should be barred from the United States and held to account for their brutality.”
Vice Ranking Member Wagner previously said on her legislation to hold Russia accountable: “As Vice Ranking Member of both the House Financial Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I have been working to expose the horrors of this unjustified war and to properly punish Russian officials. My legislation, H.R. 6891, Isolate Russian Government Officials Act of 2022, requires the Department of Treasury and other financial agencies to take the necessary steps to exclude Russian government officials from key international financial meetings. This important bill overwhelmingly passed the United States House of Representatives in May 2022, and then again in July as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023. The House has made a strong statement that the United States must hold Russia accountable for their actions and isolate Russian officials from the world stage.”
You can read Vice Ranking Member Wagner’s statements on punishing Russia here and here.
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Arthur Bryant
Communications Director
Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-2)
2350 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515