Ukraine’s Foreign Minister talks to Blinken about unblocking US aid
Pravda Ukraine
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Source: European Pravda with reference to Kuleba’s post on social media X
I spoke with @SecBlinken and thanked the United States for the recent military aid package, which will help our people resist Russian aggression.
I emphasized the need and urgency of continued U.S. and international support for Ukraine, including air defense and artillery…
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 16, 2024
Details: Kuleba said that during the call, he thanked Blinken for the latest aid package provided by the United States and stressed the need to ensure continued military assistance from the United States and other allies, including ammunition for air defence and artillery.
He noted that they had discussed, among other things, the approval of additional funding to support Ukraine. As is known, this issue has been stuck in Congress since autumn 2023 due to disputes between the Republicans and the Democrats over the policy of countering migration on the southern border of the United States and the disagreement of some Republicans, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to continue to provide Ukraine with non-repayable aid.
Quote from Kuleba: “We cannot allow Russia to use delays in aid to advance, putting all of Europe and the democratic world at risk of an even larger war….
Ukraine has demonstrated repeatedly in recent years that with sufficient support, we can defeat Russia on the battlefield. Failure to continue supporting Ukraine would severely undermine the U.S. leadership all across the world and jeopardise American national security.”
More details: Ukraine’s foreign minister added that they also talked about the expected outcome of the upcoming NATO summit in Washington this summer.
The US has not yet published a communiqué on the outcome of the conversation.
Background:
- This week, it became known that US House Speaker Mike Johnson had actually agreed to unblock the decision to provide aid to Ukraine, but with significant changes – that it should be a project from the House of Representatives and that it should be in the form of a loan or a lend-lease.
- He also admitted that aid to Ukraine and Israel would still be divided into separate projects. Any new project will have to receive enough votes in both the House and the Senate.
- This week, for the first time since December 2023, the United States announced a new $300 million aid package for Ukraine. As explained, these funds came from unexpected contract savings from previously funded aid packages.
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