U.S. diplomats have asked for an immediate exemption of Ukraine-related programs from the 90-day foreign aid freeze and "cease and desist" orders issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing documents and people familiar with the matter, UNN reports.
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Citing national security concerns, senior diplomats in the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs asked Rubio for a blanket waiver to exclude USAID's work in Ukraine from the sweeping directive, which took effect immediately.
"At this time, we do not know whether this request will be approved - in whole or in part - but so far there are positive signals from Washington," reads an email sent to USAID staff in Ukraine on Saturday, seen by the FT.
According to emails and officials from some of these partner organizations, USAID Ukraine has temporarily suspended issuing cease-and-desist orders while the request for dismissal is being considered.