Corker: Committee Approves Resolution Supporting NATO

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today voted for committee passage of a resolution expressing support for the strategic importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to the United States and urging its member states to work together at the summit meeting this week (July 11-12) to strengthen the alliance. Corker offered an amendment adopted by the committee reaffirming U.S. policy supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia for its efforts to annex Crimea. Last week he returned from a trip, led by Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), to the Nordic and Baltic regions focused on political and security issues important to the United States, including Russian attempts to influence the regions.

“I absolutely support the notion that all NATO countries, especially Germany, need to meet the 2 percent requirement for spending on defense and increase their capabilities. At the same time, a weakening of the alliance is not in U.S. interests,” said Corker. “The resolution we passed today expresses strong, bipartisan support for our NATO allies and reaffirms the U.S. commitment to the transatlantic partnership. A strong NATO, especially given a level of aggression from Russia not seen since the Cold War, remains essential for maintaining the rules-based international order created with U.S. leadership that has helped democracy thrive around the world and has made our citizens safer at home.”

Text of the resolution approved by the committee today is available here.

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