Sen. Tom Cotton on Sunday urged President-elect Donald Trump to take a firmer stance on Russia, saying Moscow needs a new set of “boundaries” in the global order.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” the first-term Arkansas Republican said the U.S. must make clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin will face consequences for his actions.
His comments come just days after the outgoing Obama administration announced it would expel dozens of Russian diplomats and shutter Russian facilities in the wake of the country’s alleged hacking into Democratic National Committee emails — a tactic the administration says was meant to help swing the U.S. presidential election to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Putin has said he will not retaliate and instead will wait until Mr. Trump takes office to try to repair the relationship between the two countries. Mr. Trump often has offered kind words for Mr. Putin and has signaled he’d be more friendly with Russia.
But Mr. Cotton and other lawmakers of both parties believe Mr. Trump must balance any diplomatic outreach with toughness.
“What Vladimir Putin needs is a sense of new boundaries,” the senator said. “He’s had a free reign throughout the world over the last eight years. He needs to have a sense of boundaries to know that costs are going to be imposed if he crosses those boundaries.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.