WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today returned from a national security trip to Eastern Europe and the Middle East where he met with leaders of Lithuania, Ukraine and Jordan.

In Lithuania, President Dalia Grybauskaite hosted Inhofe on Monday for the inauguration ceremony of Lithuania’s first liquefied natural gas import facility, which will allow the country to lessen the region’s demand for energy from Russia. While in country, Inhofe also met with Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius of Lithuania, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma of Latvia, and Minister of Foreign Trade and Entrepreneurship Anne Sulling of Estonia. Inhofe ended his time in Lithuania by visiting U.S. soldiers currently stationed in the region supporting NATO allies. 

While in Lithuania, Inhofe sent a letter to President Obama highlighting the steps Lithuania is taking to free itself from energy dependence on Russia and increase its market for U.S. natural gas, which can be read by clicking here. 

In Ukraine, Inhofe met Tuesday with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Areseniy Yatsenyuk, and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak where they discussed the ongoing Russian aggression, the status of U.S. military assistance, and Ukraine’s recent elections. Inhofe was the first U.S. government official to congratulate the leaders for Ukraine’s successful parliamentary elections that took place on Oct. 26. 

“Ukraine’s recent election is an opportunity for reform and an overwhelming mandate from the people of Ukraine to move closer to the West and away from the agenda of Putin,” said Inhofe about his trip. "President Putin continues to support pro-Russian separatist in Ukraine leading to violence and instability. The U.S. must stand strong next to Ukraine and President Poroshenko. While President Obama has provided our ally with sleeping bags and night-vision goggles, the country is asking for military equipment that will actually deter further aggression from Russia. During my visit, I told the government leaders that I and many of my colleagues in Congress support their request and are working to get them the needed support.” 

In the meeting with Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Yatsenyuk shared with Inhofe the importance for the United States to increase natural gas exports to the international community as it would help to depoliticize the energy resource by creating a real natural gas market in Europe that is non-existent due to too few viable providers. 

On Wednesday, Inhofe visited the Jordan-Syria border and was hosted by Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman. In the meeting, the king asserted that the morale of his troops fighting extremists is high and stressed that while they need American support, he wants and is working to ensure regional partners carry the burden of the fight. 

Inhofe also spoke with Maj. Gen. Michael Nagata, commander of U.S. Central Command Special Operations Command (SOCCENT), and was briefed on the Syria Train and Equip program, a two-month mission funded by Congress in the September continuing resolution. Maj. Gen. Nagata shared with Inhofe about the vetting process of the moderate opposition, which included: recommendations by regional partners; evaluation of and augmentation of those recommendations by U.S. intelligence; Human Rights screening; and close scrutiny and monitoring during intensive training programs by U.S. personnel. Maj. Gen. Nagata also briefed Inhofe on the mechanisms to mitigate the risk of trained fighters joining extremist organizations. 

“Jordan has taken in an overwhelming number of Syrian refugees who traveled to their borders to escape the violence and terror in their country over the past several years. King Abdullah and the country of Jordan have carried a heavy burden and remained a strong ally of the United States,” said Inhofe. "Earlier this year Congress approved a program to train the moderate Syrian opposition, and I visited Jordan in order to see and hear first hand how our troops are doing and the current progress of the mission. After my meetings, I remain confident in our military leaders who are tasked with carrying out this mission and the vetting process that they have put into place. King Abdullah II has been a tremendous partner to the U.S. as we work together to help defeat the threat of ISIS and work to irradiate radical Islam."

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