WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, released the following statement:

“Freeing political prisoners is always a good thing and necessary step. Releasing Mikhail Khodorkovsky and others brings Russia closer to where it should be as a modern European state. It is too early to tell if this could lead to broader reform. For now, I share the joyful anticipation of those who may get to greet 2014 in freedom and the company of loved ones.”