The White House has been in touch with allies and partners on the topic of continued funding for Ukraine, and these discussions will continue, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday, quoted by Reuters.
Karine Jean-PierrePhoto: – / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The US Congress on Saturday passed a temporary law that extended government spending for more than a month to avoid default, but the legislation contained no provision for funds for new aid to Ukraine.
Commenting on what happened in Washington, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Monday that he hopes that the exclusion of aid to Ukraine from the agreement voted by the US Congress is nothing more than an “incident”, reports News.ro.
“The question is whether what happened in the American Congress at the end of last week is an incident or is it systematic,” Kuleba said on the sidelines of the meeting with foreign ministers from the European Union. “I think it was an incident. We have a very in-depth discussion with both sides of Congress, Republicans and Democrats. And against the background of a potential shutdown of government activity in the United States, the decision was taken as it was,” he explained.
“But now we’re working with both sides of Congress to make sure it doesn’t happen again under any circumstances. So we do not feel that the support of the United States has dissipated. Because the United States understands that the stake in Ukraine is much higher than just Ukraine, it’s about the stability and predictability of the world,” added Kuleba.
On the other hand, in a wide-ranging interview with CNN, Ukraine’s National Security Adviser, Oleksii Danilov, expressed his concern over the action of the US Congress to exclude aid to Ukraine under the agreement to keep the federal government operating.
“We need to see if the United States is responsible for democracy in the world, if it remains the country that supports democracy, or if it is the country that will stand by and watch as authoritarian states grab more and more territory. That is quite simple.” , Danilov pointed out. “If the United States is a bastion of democracy in the world, then the answer should be clear to everyone. If the United States believes that it should step away from this, that chaos should reign throughout the world, that authoritarian states should seize more and more territory, then the United States should also give this answer,” the Ukrainian official emphasized.
Referring to the debate between the Republican presidential candidates regarding the extent of aid to Ukraine, Danilov said: “We are aware that a political process, an electoral process, has begun in the United States. We do not intervene in this process in any way , but we would very much like it not to affect the development of democracy in the world”.
“I emphasize once again that it would be a great joy for Putin, and not only for him, but for all autocratic regimes, if the US would withdraw from the assistance it provides to our country,” he insisted.
Danilov also said that the world is at a crossroads. “Darkness can quickly engulf many countries. The American people must choose – either on the side of the light, or prepare for unexpected events that may occur,” the Ukrainian adviser warned. Danilov added, however, that he is certain that the American people “are on the side of the light”.
“As for the end of American support, we are more than confident that this will not happen,” he said.
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