U.S. diplomats urge Congress to pass Ukraine aid bill to maintain trust with strategic partners
Kyiv • UNN
American ambassadors from nine Pacific Rim countries signed a letter calling on Congress to pass a bill to provide assistance to Ukraine and other allies in order to maintain trust with strategic partners.
American ambassadors from the Pacific Rim countries are calling on the US Congress to pass a bill to provide assistance to Ukraine and other allies, otherwise the trust of strategic partners will suffer. This is stated in a letter from the American ambassadors to Japan, China, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, India, New Zealand and the Philippines, the New York Times reports, UNN reports.
Details
A group of U.S. ambassadors working in the Indo-Pacific region is calling on congressional leaders to ensure passage of legislation to provide assistance to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Pacific, saying America's credibility with its strategic partners is at stake.
The letter was signed by Ambassadors Philip Goldberg of South Korea, Ram Emanuel of Japan, Caroline Kennedy of Australia, Mary Kay Carlson of the Philippines, Eric Garcetti of India, Nicholas Burns of China, Tom
Udall, Malaysia's Edgar Kagan, and Vietnam's Mark Knapper.
The letter is addressed to the four leading congressional leaders. The ambassadors note that they have not signed such appeals before, but given the seriousness of the moment, they consider it necessary to share their assessment of the request for additional funding, which they consider to be extremely necessary.
Governments are watching what we do at this crucial moment in history - a time when the decisions we make now will have a lasting impact for years to come. They want to see that when times get tough, the United States will stand with our allies and partners
The ambassadors note that the rejection of aid to Ukraine could give China courage in the region. The ambassadors said that countries with expansionist ideas will take note of the result when lawmakers hold what the letter calls one of the most consequential votes in a generation.
Not only our allies and partners will be watching this moment, but also our adversaries. The credibility of our commitment to collective security and deterrence hangs in the balance
Recall
A $118 billion emergency national security spending package that combines aid to U.S. allies with tough new border policies demanded by Republicans teeters on the brink of collapse in Congress ahead of a test vote scheduled for Wednesday in the Senate.
The package put to a vote on Wednesday provides $60 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, $14 billion to Israel, and nearly $5 billion to partners in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.