CNN Newsroom: Interview with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)

Interview

"I don't think it will affect support for the Ukrainians, but I would have liked to have seen stronger language. But they did get -- made it very clear that nobody should violate another country's sovereignty, but they didn't come out and say Russia was the aggressor. On the other hand, that possibly would have meant there would have been no communique which might have been worse than having something.

And I think that their other achievements with the communique and the rail and seaport deal are pretty significant, as well.

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Well, I think it sends the message that he has sway in the G20 unfortunately. I do wish that they had condemned Russia. On the other hand, I think that this statement proclaiming that no nation's sovereignty should be violated is important, and I hope that they can build upon it going forward.

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Well, I think they were absent, and I think that that was actually to their detriment because I think that Joe Biden was able to kind of fill the holes left by both Vladimir Putin and China at this particular summit, and I think that he was able to at least so far be able to really show kind of a muscular presence on the part of the United States at this -- at this particular G20 Summit.

I like the photo op with him and the other democracies in the, quote- unquote, "BRICS" alliance including South Africa, Brazil, and India. And that goes to show that the United States is here and is present and willing to work with anybody.

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He's absolutely taking the right approach. And by the way, Vietnam has kind of upgraded the status of its relations with the United States to its highest level which they've never done before. And I think that what he's going to say is that, you know, now is the time to establish a rules -- international rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. We can't have a situation where the Chinese Communist Party, for instance, draws a map laying claim to the entirety of the South China Sea or to states in India which it claims are its own. There has to be a situation where also differences are resolved peacefully, not by force.

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I have not seen that news. I think that obviously Iranian oil bound for any country could violate any number of United Nations sanctions. And so I think that the U.S. is probably acting within its interests and within international law.

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Well, you know, having lived through January 6th which was a harrowing day for our democracy, a day when I believe that he did incite a mob to march and then to riot on Capitol Hill, it feels like this type of language again is being used to incite potentially provocative action.

In the minds of his followers, it's interpreted a certain way and it would just contribute to the rise in political violence that's happened ever since Donald Trump appeared on the scene. We can't go that direction. We just can't.

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Thank you, sir.

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