Joe Biden worked on Tuesday to convince United States allies of the sustainability of American support for Ukraine, which depends on the outcome of budget discussions that were chaotic to say the least.
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The American president organized a telephone conference to “coordinate further assistance to Ukraine,” said a brief statement from the White House.
According to the same source, it was attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
Jens Stoltenberg spoke on the social network X (formerly Twitter) of a “good conversation” and added: “We promise to support Ukraine for as long as necessary.”
The Italian leader said in a press release that Joe Biden “wanted to reassure allies about the continuation of American support for Ukraine, even after the recent decisions of Congress.”
“Strength”
A French diplomatic source said that “the call was made very quickly,” adding that Minister Catherine Colonna “reaffirmed the firmness of France’s commitment to the Ukrainians.”
“That was the general tone of the exchange,” this source said.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre asserted on Monday that President Vladimir Putin was “wrong” when he relied on Western fatigue.
She added that the United States would “soon” announce new aid to Ukraine’s armed forces, coming from a budget already approved by Congress.
At the same time, Joe Biden continues to put pressure on the national political scene.
The Republican Party, which dominates the House of Representatives, must “keep its word and ensure Ukraine votes for the aid it needs to defend itself.”
The US Congress, currently composed of the Democratic-majority Senate and the House of Representatives, has about a month and a half to pass an annual budget that would include a new and massive amount to fund military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.
So far, the White House estimates the increase needed to continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort at $24 billion.
Parliamentary riot
The American federal state should actually have had a new budget since October 1st, but very strong tensions within the Republican majority in the House of Representatives made a vote impossible.
The situation became even more complicated Monday night when a far-right elected official introduced a motion aimed at firing conservative House leader Kevin McCarthy.
The Biden administration has so far refused to say exactly when the funds already approved by Congress to support Ukraine will be used up.
The United States is the main driver of the Western coalition formed to confront Russia and also – by far – the main supplier of aid to Ukraine in the form of heavy and sophisticated weapons.
Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, recently estimated the amount of military aid provided to Kiev since Russia’s invasion at $47 billion, which is supplemented by direct budget support of “$1 billion to $1.5 billion” from the US World Bank is added. and around ten billion dollars in humanitarian aid.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German institute that tracks aid to Ukraine, estimates that the United States has spent nearly $75 billion on the country so far.
This makes it the world’s largest contributor in absolute terms and the 13th if we relate the sum to gross domestic product (0.3%).