The Biden administration needs to be more transparent about whether U.S. backing for Ukraine includes retaking Russian-occupied Crimea, Sen. Dan Sullivan told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
The Alaska Republican said, "I think they should be more clear. I think it should be all the territorial integrity of the entire country, which includes Crimea. ... I think they need more clarity on that. And the national security adviser didn't demonstrate it in his interview with you today."
National security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared before the Alaska senator on "Meet the Press" and was vague about whether the U.S. would back Ukraine's attempts to retake annexed Crimea, instead stating that the administration will address the "question of Crimea" further "down the road" and saying Kyiv should concentrate on taking back territory in the south and east, The Hill reported.
The Alaska senator said he thought the national security adviser demonstrated "unease" when pressed on the question.
Sen. Sullivan said on "Meet the Press" that there is a "strong contingent" of Republicans who back U.S. aid to Kyiv, but added that there are "legitimate criticisms of this administration's conduct of supporting the Ukrainians."
The Biden administration recently announced it would supply Ukraine with battle tanks, but it has not yet committed to sending F-16 fighter jets, The Hill reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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