Biden administration plans to spend $6 billion to support Ukraine before Trump takes office
The White House plans to spend the remaining $6 billion in funding to support Ukraine before Donald Trump is inaugurated as president in January, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday, warning of the risks to the world of ending US support for Kiev.
Sullivan told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that President Joe Biden will discuss key foreign policy issues with President-elect Donald Trump during their meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
He added that the meeting would be an opportunity for Biden to explain his vision and position on matters to President Trump, as well as to discuss how President Trump will deal with these issues when he takes office.
Biden led an international coalition to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, an effort that reached a critical stage after Russian military gains and a growing shortage of Ukrainian troops.
In contrast, Trump insists that he can end the war in one day, even before he takes office, assuming that this could be done through an agreement that requires Kiev to cede some of its territory to Moscow.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians and European NATO countries are racing to come up with their own plans for a world in which the US president appears less supportive of Kiev and the alliance and closer to Russia.
Sullivan said the Biden administration’s main goal in its final months is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it can be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede large swaths of territory as a precondition for peace talks, something Kiev has strongly rejected.
Sullivan also expected progress in efforts to end the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, and to free hostages held by Hamas.
“At some point, the Israeli government wants to make a deal that will bring its citizens home,” he said, adding, “I don’t think it will make this deal for American policy, but in an effort to preserve Israel’s security, and I expect we will see progress in the coming weeks”.
Asked about Israel’s response to a joint letter from the US secretaries of state and defense calling on the Jewish state to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Sullivan replied, “This week, we will assess what kind of progress they have made, and what we will do in response”.
Trump has a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the Republican election victory a “huge victory”.
