Written by Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden will discuss domestic and foreign policy priorities with President-elect Donald Trump when they meet on Wednesday, and will urge him not to abandon Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
Republican Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Biden invited Trump to the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said.
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation”, Sullivan said that Biden’s main message will be his commitment to ensure a peaceful transition of power, and he will also talk to Trump about what is happening in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. .
“The President will have the opportunity to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how he thinks President Trump will deal with these problems when he takes office,” said Sullivan.
Although Sullivan did not specify what topics the two will discuss, their conversation will likely bring up the war in Ukraine with Russia, which Trump has promised to end immediately, although he did not say how.
“President Biden will have an opportunity in the next 70 days to make the case to Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not leave Ukraine, that leaving Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” said Sullivan.
When asked if that meant Biden would ask Congress to pass legislation authorizing more funding for Ukraine, Sullivan demurred.
“I’m not here to present a legislative proposal. President Biden will make it clear that we need continued assistance in Ukraine after his term ends,” said Sullivan.
UKRAINE FUNDING
Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars in US military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and fought with other Republican lawmakers.
Sullivan’s comments came as Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the largest strike on the Russian capital since the war began.
Trump insisted last year that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have attacked Ukraine had he been in the White House at the time. He told Reuters that Ukraine may have to vacate the territory in order to reach a peace deal, something the Ukrainians reject and which Biden has never suggested.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he did not know the details of US President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine quickly and that he was sure that a quick end would involve major concessions from Kyiv.
According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress allocated more than $174 billion to Ukraine under Biden. The pace of aid is likely to slow under Trump as Republicans close in on control of the US Senate with a 52-seat majority.
Control of the US House of Representatives in the next Congress is not yet clear as some votes are still being counted. Republicans won 213 seats, according to Edison Research, just shy of the 218 needed for a majority. If Republicans win both parties, it will mean that most of Trump’s agenda will have a much easier time getting through Congress.
US Senator Bill Hagerty, who is a friend of Trump and is considered the main contender for the secretary of state, criticized the US funding of Ukraine in a CBS interview.
“The American people want sovereignty protected here in America before we spend our money and resources protecting the sovereignty of another nation,” Hagerty said.
The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its last action after Moscow’s military has made rapid advances since the war’s early days.
Any new effort to end the war is likely to involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the early months of the war.
Moscow’s forces occupy almost a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war will not end until its annexes are accepted. Kyiv wants all of its territory returned, a position widely supported by Western allies.
