Stoltenberg discusses in Washington the continuation of American military aid to Ukraine
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Monday kicked off a critical trip to the U.S., where he’ll meet with Biden administration officials, lawmakers and allies of former President Donald Trump in a high-stakes bid to unlock $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, Politico reports.
The longest-serving chief in the alliance’s history will deliver a speech at the Heritage Foundation on Wednesday, a conservative think tank that’s closely aligned with Trump. The visit comes as Trump and allies press Republicans to reject a $111 billion package that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan over a disagreement with the White House on border policy.
Stoltenberg will likely find a skeptical audience at Heritage — which has advocated for Europe to take the lead in supporting Ukraine while the U.S. shifts its focus to the Indo-Pacific.
On Monday, Stoltenberg sat down with a friendly audience at the Pentagon, where he met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon to talk about Ukraine.
“NATO allies are providing unprecedented support to Ukraine, and it’s important that we continue to do so,” Stoltenberg said before the meeting. “Our support is not charity; it’s an investment in our own security because the world will become more dangerous if President Putin wins in Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg will swing through Congress on Tuesday, meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others from both parties. The Senate side could soon release language on the border policy, yet some members in the House say it’s dead on arrival.
Later in the week, he will head to Lockheed Martin’s missile plant in Alabama, where he will likely repeat the argument from President Joe Biden and others that American jobs rely on U.S.-supplied aid to Kyiv.
