Ernst: Sanctions not working in Ukraine

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, continued on Monday to urge a stronger line be taken against Russia in the dispute over Ukraine.

Ernst has joined Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and others in Congress to push for arming Ukraine with defensive weapons to fight Russian-backed rebels. And in a conference call with Iowa reporters on Monday, she was critical of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has balked at sending lethal aid to Ukraine.

'She really does think this will just pass by,” Ernst said.

The Iowa Republican, who is an officer in the Iowa Army National Guard and served in the Iraq War, has joined others in the U.S. Senate, including some Democrats, to push for a tougher approach.

Ernst said lawmakers have made clear they are not calling for the involvement of American troops, but she thinks sanctions haven't worked. And she said NATO countries should be more involved in the effort to push back against Russia.

Merkel was in Washington, D.C., on Monday and met with President Barack Obama at the White House.

The president said he is considering providing Ukraine with defensive weapons, but he said the prospects of a military solution are low.

Ernst, who also is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was among 16 lawmakers who attended a security conference over the weekend in Munich, where the fight in Ukraine was a top concern.

On the conference call, Ernst said that, should arming Ukraine not work, she would urge greater participation from NATO countries.

But she also warned a weak response will only embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.

'Russia could, and I believe Putin would, want to start putting together many of the countries that perhaps he lost, or Russia or the Soviet Union lost many years ago,” she said. 'What we can't allow is a country to come in and push against a sovereign country and just simply take it over without any sort of intervention coming from what I believe, you know, the United States but also our trans-Atlantic alliance partners.”