US House Speaker promises to unblock aid to Ukraine but with significant changes

Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, spoke with Republican senators on Wednesday, saying that the House will prepare its draft to support Ukraine, but in a significantly different form than the one already approved by the Senate.

Source: European Pravda; The Hill

Details: Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Johnson said he "will work the will of the House on a package" to help Ukraine and understood the importance of it.

"No one wants Vladimir Putin to prevail. I’m of the opinion that he wouldn’t stop at Ukraine … and go all through the way through Europe. There is a right and wrong there, a good versus evil in my view and Ukraine is the victim here," Johnson said.

At the same time, he added that what the House of Representatives finally agrees on may not look like the draft adopted by the Senate. According to the senators present for the discussion, Johnson said that the House of Representativesʼ draft may offer support in the form of a loan or lend-lease to protect American taxpayers' interests. 

This means a potential new project must get enough votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

In addition, Johnson talked about creating a tool like the one already proposed by Republican  Mike McCaul, which would allow the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets and the transfer of funds from liquidated property to a fund to support Ukraine. 

At the same time, Johnson did not mention whether he intended to include any norms regarding the southern border of the United States in this draft, which may again be a "red line" for Democrats. 

Senator John Cornyn, one of those Republicans who voted in February for a Senate-approved package of funds to support Ukraine, says that after this discussion with Johnson, he is optimistic that the House of Representatives will finally approve some decision with help for Ukraine. 

"I’ve heard the Speaker now say ‘We’re not going to leave Ukraine emptyhanded’ or words to that effect," John Cornyn said.

Senator Kevin Cramer also said that Mike Johnson clearly expressed his intention to help Ukraine. 

"He was pretty clear about it," Cramer commented on Johnson's words about a potential project with lend-lease and legislation to confiscate Russian assets to fill the Support Fund for Ukraine. 

Republican Lindsey Graham also said after the meeting that he was very optimistic. 

Background:

• The Ukrainian government is ready to accept US financial assistance on credit to speed up its approval in Congress.
• The US State Department, commenting on the idea of aid in the form of a loan, said that "burdening Ukraine with billions of dollars of foreign debt" in a full-scale war is not appropriate.

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