Biden meets with allies to discuss support for Ukraine
Today, on October 3, US President Joe Biden met with partners and allies regarding support for Ukraine.
CNN quoted the statement of the White House.
"This morning, President Biden held a meeting with allies and partners to coordinate our continued support for Ukraine," the statement reads.
It is noted that this happened a few days after the US Congress passed a temporary bill on public spending, which, in particular, did not include aid to Ukraine.
The meeting was attended by:
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau;
- Head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen;
- President of the European Council Charles Michel;
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz;
- Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni;
- Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida;
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg;
- President of Poland Andrzej Duda;
- President of Romania Klaus Iohannis;
- Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak;
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna.
In addition, the President of Poland Duda announced that the one-hour telephone conference at the invitation of Joe Biden has ended. According to Duda, the main topic was the situation in Ukraine, and Biden called for continued assistance to the country. Duda noted that they are determined to support Ukraine. He also added that Poland is one of the key countries in helping Ukraine.
For reference:
The problem with further US aid to Ukraine arose after far-right Republicans began to block the adoption of budget bills for the next fiscal year, demanding to cut what they consider unnecessary spending. It reached the point that the US government was threatened with a so-called "shutdown." In particular, they opposed additional aid to Ukraine.
"Shutdown" in the USA
The threat of a government shutdown is related to the position of far-right Republicans. They blocked the adoption of budget bills for the next financial year, demanding to cut, in their opinion, unnecessary expenses.
They also opposed additional aid to Ukraine. To the latter, the White House tried to include at least a compromise of $6 billion for Ukraine by mid-November, but the initiative could not gather enough votes.
On the evening of September 30, the House of Representatives approved temporary funding for the government to avoid a "shutdown" that was supposed to take place on October 1.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko noted that the situation with the vote on the interim budget in the United States of America and its signing by the head of state, Joe Biden, will not affect the receipt of previously announced aid to Ukraine.
