(Washington) The White House on Thursday urged US senators to reach an agreement on essential aid to Ukraine, after reports that Donald Trump is seeking to torpedo any progress on this issue.
According to American media, the big favorite of the right for the presidential election is encouraging Republicans to oppose the agreement to deprive his rival, Democratic President Joe Biden, of a political victory before the November election.
In recent weeks, Republican elected officials have put pressure on the Biden administration by linking any new aid to Ukraine to stricter measures against immigration, one of Donald Trump’s campaign themes.
An agreement between Republican and Democratic senators appeared to be on the verge of being reached in recent days.
The budget for aid to Ukraine has dried up due to lack of agreement in Congress, while Kyiv is increasingly concerned about the lack of aid from the United States and the European Union, its main support since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
At the White House, we assure you that the Biden administration managed this issue in “good faith” with the Republicans, notably during a meeting with the president himself last week.
“We will continue to be in good faith and we hope that Republicans will stay at the negotiating table so that we get there,” White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton told reporters.
Especially since Russia is “closely monitoring” the evolution of Washington’s support for Ukraine, for his part underlined John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the United States.
“Ukraine is about to experience critical months, as they are in the middle of winter and spring is approaching. And the Russians have shown no intention of letting up on drone and missile attacks,” he insisted.