By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy returned to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to cement relationships with lawmakers who will vote on future U.S. support for his nation, which could possibly be in jeopardy if former President Donald Trump is reelected.
Zelenskiy, who’s in Washington for this week’s NATO summit, met with leaders of the Senate and Home of Representatives and members of committees concerned in protection, spending, diplomacy and nationwide safety.
“It’s an incredibly important mission and we’ve got to stand by Ukraine,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner advised Reuters.
The go to comes amid deep uncertainty about this 12 months’s U.S. presidential election, which pits incumbent Democrat Joe Biden, a robust supporter of support to Ukraine, in opposition to the Republican Trump, who has expressed skepticism concerning the quantity of support given.
Zelenskiy awarded the Order of Advantage of Ukraine to Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell earlier than having lunch with a gaggle of Democratic and Republican senators. He later sat down with the Republican Home of Representatives speaker, Mike Johnson, telling reporters he had simply invited Johnson to Kyiv.
Johnson, a detailed Trump ally, mentioned it could be troublesome to search out the time for a visit earlier than the November election, when each seat within the Home can be up for grabs and his fellow Republicans hope to protect or develop their slim majority.
“We’d sure like to. The schedule’s pretty tight through the election for us, so it’s difficult to find the time to go, but we’d certainly like to,” Johnson mentioned.
Biden’s uneven June 27 debate efficiency in opposition to Trump and low public approval have raised recent doubts about his psychological health, and a handful of congressional Democrats have known as for Biden to step apart.
Reuters reported final month that two Trump advisers had introduced the Republican candidate with a plan to finish Russia’s battle in Ukraine – if he wins the Nov. 5 election – that entails telling Kyiv it is going to solely get extra U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks.
Zelenskiy urged U.S. political leaders in a speech on Tuesday to not watch for the end result of the U.S. election earlier than transferring forcefully to assist Ukraine and known as for fewer restrictions on using U.S. weaponry.
JOHNSON CHANGED COURSE
In Congress, dozens of Trump’s closest allies have voted repeatedly in opposition to helping Zelenskiy’s authorities, though Democrats and extra internationally targeted Republicans have labored collectively to approve the $175 billion in support for Ukraine Washington has accepted since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Most lately, Johnson modified course in April – months after Biden requested the cash – and allowed the Home to vote on and go $61 billion in help for Ukraine.
When Zelenskiy final visited Congress in December, Johnson had mentioned he wouldn’t help Biden’s request for extra funding.
The Home handed the supplemental spending bundle by 311 to 112, with the “no” votes coming from conservative Republicans carefully allied with Trump. The vote fueled considerations Trump’s get together won’t approve extra money for Ukraine in the event that they take management of the Home, Senate and White Home in November.
Nonetheless, Johnson mentioned in his first main nationwide safety tackle this week that Russia poses a risk past Ukraine, and that American voters have expressed help for the help as he traveled across the nation.
“People understand that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) would not stop if he took Kyiv. He’s a ruthless dictator in my view,” Johnson mentioned.
