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Mike Rounds on Foreign Policy

Republican SD Governor

 


Make clear to Putin that solution is diplomacy, not invasion

We have to make it very clear to Mr. Putin that his antics around Ukraine are unacceptable. If additional sanctions have to be imposed to send that message, that would be appropriate. Nord Stream 2 is one example of a place where we could do that now. The president has the authority to do so. I think sending a message to Mr. Putin that he's going to get a lot more accomplished using diplomatic means, rather than threatening to invade, is something that we should be very, very firm about.
Source: ABC This Week 2022 interview of Sen. Mike Rounds , Jan 9, 2022

Make clear to Putin that solution is diplomacy, not invasion

We have to make it very clear to Mr. Putin that his antics around Ukraine are unacceptable. If additional sanctions have to be imposed to send that message, that would be appropriate. Nord Stream 2 is one example of a place where we could do that now. The president has the authority to do so. I think sending a message to Mr. Putin that he's going to get a lot more accomplished using diplomatic means, rather than threatening to invade, is something that we should be very, very firm about.
Source: ABC This Week 2022 interview of Sen. Mike Rounds , Jan 9, 2022

Disallow Palestine from joining ICC to threaten Israel.

Rounds signed disallowing Palestine from joining ICC to threaten Israel

Excerpts from Letter from 73 Senators to Secretary of State Kerry We are deeply concerned by the decision of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to seek membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC), because the Palestinian Authority is not a state and its express intent is to use this process to threaten Israel.

Pres. Abbas` effort contravene the spirit of earlier agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and erodes the prospect for peace. Therefore, the US must make clear that joining the ICC is not a legitimate or viable path for Palestinians.

Israel is a major strategic partner of the US and is facing increasing pressure from those who seek to delegitimize its very existence. The only realistic and sustainable path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Supporting argument: (Heritage Foundation, `U.S. Should Not Join the ICC,` Aug. 18, 2009): The ICC prosecutor is exploring a request by the Palestinian National Authority to prosecute Israeli commanders for alleged war crimes committed during the recent actions in Gaza. Palestinian lawyers maintain that the Palestinian National Authority can request ICC jurisdiction as the de facto sovereign even though it is not an internationally recognized state. By countenancing Palestine`s claims, the ICC prosecutor has enabled pressure to be applied to Israel over alleged war crimes, while ignoring Hamas`s incitement of the military action and its commission of war crimes against Israeli civilians. Furthermore, by seemingly recognizing Palestine as a sovereign entity, the prosecutor`s action has created a pathway for Palestinian statehood without first reaching a comprehensive peace deal with Israel. This determination is an inherently political issue beyond the ICC`s authority.

Source: Palestinian Bid to ICC 14LTR-ICC on Jan 29, 2015

Two-state solution despite Israeli settlements on West Bank.

Rounds signed two-state solution despite Israeli settlements on West Bank

Congressional Summary: S.Res.6/H.Res.11 objects to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which characterizes Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and demands cessation of settlement activities.

Opposing argument: (Cato Institute, Dec. 19, 2003): In principle, separation seems the best answer to stop the killing. For this reason, a security fence makes sense--if it actually separates Jew from Arab. Unfortunately, to protect a number of disparate Israeli settlements erected in the midst of Palestinian communities, Israel currently is mixing Jew and Arab and separating Arab from Arab. Thus are sown the seeds for conflict. After 36 years of occupation, the land remains almost exclusively Arab. The limited Jewish presence is the result of conscious colonization. The settlements require a pervasive Israeli military occupation, imposing a de facto system of apartheid. Separation offers the only hope, but separation requires dismantling Israeli settlements.

Source: S.Res.6 & H.Res.11 17-SRes6 on Jan 3, 2017

Sponsored bill to monitor forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.

Rounds co-sponsored Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

Legislative summary: The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: