 "Joe Biden")
US President Joe Biden urged the Congress to approve additional aid for Ukraine before Christmas, as Republican objections fuel worries the US will to resist Russia’s invasion is flagging.
“This cannot wait,” Biden said in a Wednesday address from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. “Petty, partisan, angry politics can’t get in the way of our responsibility as a leading nation in the world. And literally, the entire world is watching.”
Biden said he was willing to consider immigration policy changes to secure a deal, winning praise from a key Republican lawmaker.
Conservative Republicans have stalled fresh support for three months, demanding major concessions from the White House and Democrats on immigration policy to curb a surge in migrant crossings at the US border with Mexico. The impasse has sparked fears the aid will not be approved this year.
The president has looked to ratchet up pressure on Congress by arguing a failure to approve new funds could embolden Russia. The president met virtually earlier on Wednesday with the leaders of Group of Seven industrialised nations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an effort to reassure them of US support.
It was the second such call Biden has held with G7 leaders in the past two months in an effort to persuade them America would stand by Kyiv against Moscow’s military assault. About two weeks later, Biden delivered a rare Oval Office address casting Ukraine’s war effort and stopping Putin as imperative for US democracy.
But those pleas have thus far been ignored. Congress has yet to approve a new aid package, even though administration officials have warned funding is running dry. Biden also pleaded with Republicans on Wednesday for a fresh infusion of military aid for Ukraine, warning that a victory for Russia over Ukraine would leave Moscow in position to attack Nato allies and could draw US troops into a war.
