U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, along with 397 other members of Congress, was sanctioned by Russia on Wednesday.
The move was a response to U.S. sanctions imposed on more than 300 Russian lawmakers last month. A Russian foreign ministry release stated that every American politician named in the almost 400-person list could not travel to Russia.
When asked whether a foreign government has levied sanctions against him before, Courtney said, “This is a first.”
“The statement that actually came out, it’s a straightforward travel ban,” Courtney said. “We’re denied entry into the country, into the Russian federation. They call it their ‘stop list.’ It’s very terse. There’s not much other detail to it.”
Last month, Congress passed a nearly $14-billion aid bill for Ukraine as the country prepared for the Russian invasion. The money is meant to help Ukraine’s defense and administer humanitarian aid to its citizens.
Courtney believes that the bill, along with U.S. sanctions, led to Wednesday’s news about House members from both sides of the aisle facing sanctions, including some representatives, such as Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who have been criticized for being too sympathetic to Russia.
“I know there were some U.S. sanctions of Russian parliamentarians around the time that they basically voted to rubber stamp Putin’s invasion,” Courtney said. “I’m assuming this is some form of retaliation. I think particularly after passing the Ukraine spending package, the $14 billion, I’m sure they started to notice that Congress is on the field, in the game.”
On Wednesday night, Courtney’s office sent out a release “in response to U.S. actions to hold President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government accountable for the invasion of Ukraine.”
“Being sanctioned by Putin is a badge of honor. Standing with the Ukrainian people against his savage attack on a sovereign democracy is the moral imperative of our time,” he said.
“I don’t have any animosity toward the people who live in Russia,” Courtney said Thursday. “It’s a fascinating part of the world. But obviously, as our statement said, we’re at a place where I’m proud to be singled out by Vladimir Putin for sanctions.”
Courtney declined to comment on the 37 members of the House not singled out with sanctions by Russia.
Read more: https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220414/russia-imposes-sanctions-on-courtney-other-house-members/