Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Thursday called for sanctions on Ukraine and said the Obama administration is too weak when dealing with Russia.
“This is the most naive president in history,” he said on Phoenix radio station KFYI, according to Politico. “The naiveté of Barack Obama and John Kerry is stunning.”
Obama has condemned the recent violence in Kiev, and the administration is considering sanctions on the country, but has yet to decide whether or not the administration will pursue them.
McCain introduced a bill with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on Thursday calling for sanctions, and McCain said on KFYI that the administration should act as soon as possible.
“This thing could easily spiral out of control into a major international crisis. The first thing we need to do is impose sanctions on those people who are in leadership positions,” McCain said.
Putin may quickly attempt a power grab after the Sochi Winter Olympic, McCain added.
“He may try — and I emphasize may — try to have some partition of … Ukraine,” McCain said. “He is committed to keeping Ukraine as part of Russia.”
McCain said that Putin has “played us so incredibly.”
