WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to President Trump and Vice President Vance meeting with President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

“By no stretch of the imagination did today’s meeting in the oval office go well. Despite the tensions, President Trump needs to find a path to return to the peace conversation. It is false to say that Ukraine does not ‘want peace.’ Of course it does.

“If President Trump ultimately wants peace, walking away from Ukraine will not achieve it. Ukraine is – and needs to remain – a sovereign, democratic, and viable country. The best way to reach that goal is to provide for Ukrainian security guarantees. Ukraine needs to be armed with the help of American, European, and other partners, and their own factories so that Russia is forced to the negotiating table and deterred from further attacks in perpetuity. If Ukraine is abandoned, Russia will not stop. Putin will continue full-scale efforts to seize more Ukrainian land and systematically cripple the country.

“Congress is ready and waiting to work with the president and his administration to that end.”

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