Biden, President of America reassured allies in a call about continued U.S. support for Ukraine. This came after concerns arose when a government funding bill didn’t include $6 billion in aid.
Biden was joined on the call by leaders including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, President Andrzej Duda of Poland, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The call also included participants like NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. Biden aimed to reassure them all.
Biden’s intention to communicate with allies was initially reported by Bloomberg News.
On Saturday, Biden signed a short-term funding bill from Congress to prevent a government shutdown and keep it open until November 17th. However, this bill, which was passed swiftly, did not include extra assistance for Kyiv. This was disappointing for both Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy had visited Washington just last month to personally request ongoing support.
Biden has expressed his hope that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will fulfill his promise to pass aid for Ukraine in a separate bill. However, there’s uncertainty regarding this additional assistance. McCarthy has proposed tying Ukraine funding to measures related to U.S. border security and immigration, which Democrats oppose.
