Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington this Tuesday, December 12. True to form, the Ukrainian president is stepping up to plead the cause of his country at war. Before meeting President Biden and participating in a press conference, he held meetings in Congress to convince elected officials to continue to financially support his country in the face of the Russian invasion. But it’s not won…
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With our correspondent in Washington, Guillaume Naudin
A year ago, Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Washington for the first time. He was received triumphantly at the Congress before which he spoke. This time, the contrast is striking: no collective address and no standing applause.
The Ukrainian president met with senators behind closed doors to give them an update on the situation, and ask them to continue funding his country’s war effort. A “frank” discussion, according to the word used by Volodymyr Zelensky himself.
Republican senators remain on their position: no funding for Ukraine, unless the Biden administration takes more drastic measures to limit the flow of migrants at the southern border.
The two issues do not have an obvious link, but it is American politics that Volodymyr Zelensky is beginning to know well.
The Republican senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, bluntly told him: It has nothing to do with you, you have done everything that could be asked of you… No, the message is clearly addressed to the president.
And it’s as if the senators are asking Volodymyr Zelensky to pass it on to himself. He has undoubtedly already passed, but the Ukrainian president is received this afternoon, probably with a little more enthusiasm.
Even if he will convey the unwavering support of the United States, Joe Biden does not currently have the possibility of transforming this into concrete support.
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