Sheldon Whitehouse: Russia should be punished, but communication remain open

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Wednesday that even though Russia should be punished for its actions in the 2016 elections, he agrees the two countries need to try and work together.

“As much as the Russians need and deserve a punch in the nose for what they did in the 2016 elections, and a sanctioned regime is the way to do that, we are also trying to work with them in other areas. And to have that continued dialogue, intelligence professional to intelligence professional, is not in itself a bad thing,” Mr. Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, said on CNN.

The senator said the U.S. can have those conversations while also imposing sanctions, something the administration has delayed fully implementing. The State Department said last month that it has used some of the powers given by Congress’ bill to push Russia on issues relating to its aggression in Ukraine and human rights abuses.