Biden hosting Germany’s Scholz as Europe grows anxious about Ukraine funding impasse in Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden welcomes German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
for talks Friday at a time of mounting anxiety in Europe over the White
House’s ability to break an impasse in Congress that is blocking new
aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia.
Scholz arrived in Washington
ready to amplify an argument Biden himself has been making for months
now: A Russian win in Ukraine would imperil the West and its allies.
He’s also looking to highlight that Germany continues to provide robust
funding for Ukraine despite budget constraints.
Scholz is
emphasizing the stakes of the debate for Europe and beyond as House
Republicans have blocked new U.S. funding. The Republicans are arguing
that the United States can’t afford to keep pouring billions of dollars
of taxpayer money into Ukraine’s war effort and that Europe should do
more for Kyiv.
Ahead of the White House meeting, Scholz said that backing away from
support for Kyiv would have consequences beyond Ukraine and could prove
more costly to Western governments in the long run.
“Others around the world are watching closely to see whether these
divisions can be exploited and whether disinformation campaigns can take
hold,” Scholz wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Thursday.
“We must prove them wrong by convincing citizens on both sides of the
Atlantic that a Russian victory would make the world a far more
dangerous place. It would also strain our budgets while putting the
freedom and prosperity of each of us in peril.”
The impasse has meant that the U.S. has halted arms shipments to Kyiv at
a crucial point in the nearly two-year-old conflict, leaving Ukrainian
soldiers without ample ammunition and missiles as Russian President
Vladimir Putin has mounted relentless attacks. The U.S. has provided
Ukraine with some $111 billion since Putin launched his grinding invasion.
German officials said Scholz intended to use his time in Washington, in
part, to put the spotlight on what the 27-member European Union has done
recently to help the Ukraine cause, including paving the way for EU
membership talks for Ukraine, and underscoring that Germany is planning
more than 7 billion euros ($7.5 billion) for weapons deliveries despite a domestic budget crisis.
Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund in Washington,
said that Scholz will be looking to hear from Biden on his “Plan B” if
Congress remains at loggerheads over funding for Ukraine.
“If in
fact, there is no forthcoming U.S. supplemental, what tools does the
U.S. administration have at its disposal?” Conley said.
U.S.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Biden would
make clear to Scholz that despite the “dysfunction” in the House over
Ukraine funding, there’s broad bipartisan support to continue to back
Kyiv.
U.S. officials are also concerned that the funding impasse is shaping
Moscow’s strategy, noting a surge in strikes targeting Ukraine’s
defense industrial base that seems aimed at setting back Ukraine’s
ability to produce munitions needed to defend itself.
“The
president believes that support for Ukraine is critical, particularly
right now, as Russia continues to try to hit their defense industrial
base,” Kirby said.
Scholz recently called on other European countries to step up with more weapons deliveries for Ukraine, saying that “it can’t be down to Germany alone.”
Berlin
is making “a very big contribution, but it won’t be enough on its own
if sufficient support doesn’t come together everywhere,” Scholz said
before departing Germany for Washington on Thursday. “Now is the moment
for us to do what is necessary — give Ukraine the possibility to defend
itself, and at the same time send the Russian president a very clear
signal: the signal that he can’t expect our support to ease off.”
The
White House said Biden and Scholz are also expected to discuss the
Israel-Hamas war and the July NATO summit, which the U.S. will host in
Washington.
