NEW YORK, December 12./TASS/. At a closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, US lawmakers heard nothing new, Eric Schmitt, Senator for Missouri, said.
"It’s the same old stuff. There’s nothing new," The New York Times quoted Schmitt as saying.
Besides, he complained that US President Joe Biden has not yet answered the question from legislators about the protection of the country’s own border. "We’re hearing from the president of Ukraine again, but we’ve yet to hear from our own president about the border, our border," he said.
US authorities said that Biden had invited Zelensky to the White House on December 12. The Ukrainian leader was invited to address the Senate on the same day. Earlier, Zelensky refused to address senators via video link at a closed briefing focused on additional aid for Kiev.
The White House submitted to Congress in October a supplemental finding request for the fiscal year, which began in the US on October 1, primarily to help Israel and Ukraine, but also to counter China and Russia. In total, the executive branch, led by Democrat Biden, would like to have about $106 billion for these purposes.
The future of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. Several Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate have recently spoken out against continued financial aid to Kiev.