Bisnis.comJAKARTA – President the united states of america (WE) Joe Biden called its main allies on Tuesday (03/10/2023) to reassure them of continued support for Ukraine as political unrest in Washington puts new military aid in a dangerous position.
Biden spoke with Western leaders to calm nerves after new aid to Ukraine was withdrawn from a deal in the US Congress to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday (30/4/2023), facing the resistance from radical republicans.
Biden’s hopes of quickly passing a new Ukraine aid bill collapsed shortly after the call on Tuesday (03/10/2023), when hardliners fired the Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
As unrest threatens to hamper legislative work, Biden is pushing for the immediate election of a new president to address the “urgent challenges facing our nation,” the White House said as reported by the CNA Wednesday (04/10/2023).
Biden previously called the leaders of key allies Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the leaders of the European Union and NATO, as well as as the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the leaders also echoed their commitment,” the White House said.
But the White House itself has clearly emphasized the urgency of the situation. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warned that if new aid is not approved, existing funds intended to help Ukraine fight a Russian invasion would last only a few months.
“Time is not our friend,” Kirby told reporters. Losing funding would not only harm Ukraine on the battlefield, but would also “make Putin think he can wait out us.”
Pentagon says it can continue to meet military needs Ukraine “a little longer” with approved assistance.
Allies quickly responded to that call in a show of unity with Biden, whose country is by far the largest provider of aid to Ukraine.
Washington has provided more than $43 billion, or about IDR 671 trillion, in military aid to Kiev since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Congress has approved a total of $113 billion in aid, including humanitarian aid.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said Biden wanted to reassure allies of continued U.S. support for Ukraine after the drama of the government shutdown.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked Biden for his “leadership”, adding that Western support would continue “as long as necessary”.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg “stressed the importance of continued support for Ukraine” and added that alliance members “share the burden fairly.”
Russia has taken action in the face of chaos in Washington and the Kremlin said on Monday (02/10/2023) that war fatigue in Western countries would increase due to uncertainty over US aid aid. Ukraine.
Biden said the U.S.’s global role was at stake. Aid to Ukraine now appears to be hostage to U.S. politics just over a year before the election, as right-wing Republicans who ousted House Speaker McCarthy, put cutting aid to Ukraine at the top of their agenda.
The chaos comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington in September to plead for continued support.
Opposition among radical Republicans has grown more than a year and a half after the Russian invasion, including among some voters.
An ABC/Washington Post poll released September 24 shows that 41% of respondents believe the United States is doing too much to support Ukraine, up from 33% in February and just 14% in April 2022.
Doubts about Western unity also grew after Slovakia elected populist leader Robert Fico, who pledged to end its military support for Ukraine. (Andy Repi)
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