Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois is reportedly on a list of U.S. officials set to be sanctioned by the Russian government.
And the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat is “just fine” with that, he said Wednesday, noting that his mother was born in Lithuania.
“And of course, the Baltic nations were held captive for decades by the Soviets, so when we talk about small nations at the mercy of Moscow, my family knows all about [it],” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And when Putin tries to show this growth [of] empire by invading the Republic of Georgia or Ukraine, you bet we’re going to speak out, and if that makes him angry, so be it.”
The Daily Beast had reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to sanction U.S. officials in response to the White House’s imposing sanctions on Russian officials over the recent unrest in Ukraine.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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