Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) revealed on Tuesday that the Russian government has officially denied him a visa to travel into the country as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation scheduled over the summer recess.
“While I’ve been a tough critic of the Kremlin, I also believe it’s important to maintain dialogue especially during moments of tension,” Murphy wrote in a statement. “As the owners of the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals with the capacity to destroy each other many times over, we have a responsibility to keep the world safe and prevent conflict between the U.S. and Russia.”
“Unfortunately, the Russian government is further isolating their country by blocking our visit and several others in recent months,” the statement continued. “With the collapse of recent arms control agreements and significant domestic opposition to Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian rule, this is potentially a perilous moment for our two nations’ fragile relationship, and it’s a shame that Russian isn’t interested in dialogue.”
The Russian government’s decision to deny entry to the Connecticut senator comes less than 24 hours after the country announced that it has also blocked Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) from entering the country as part of the same delegation.
Both Johnson and Murphy sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and were scheduled to meet with a variety of Russian officials, businessmen, and civil organizations. The two senators were ultimately barred from entering the county over legislation they promoted that holds the Russian government accountable for its aggression in Ukraine and its targeting of dissidents.
Murphy has been an outspoken critic of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and he has further supported sanctions against the country.
Johnson, who chairs the subcommittee, slammed Russia’s decision to deny him entry as a “petty affront” and further accused the country of playing “diplomatic games.”
“The path Vladimir Putin has chosen for Russia is a tragedy of historic proportions,” Johnson wrote in his own statement. “Instead of holding free and fair elections, respecting the rule of law, and integrating Russia’s economy with Western democracies, Putin has invaded Georgia, attempted to illegally annex Crimea, conducted war in eastern Ukraine where thousands have died, and supported a barbaric regime in Syria that has used chemical weapons on its own people in a war that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is scheduled to go on the aforementioned trip and confirmed with USA Today that he was, in fact, granted a visa and still plans on traveling to Russia with the delegation.
Russia blocked Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) from visiting the country in 2017, which ultimately resulted in the bipartisan congressional delegation canceling their scheduled trip into the country. However, roughly a year later, eight Republican senators, including Johnson, successfully visited Russia.