WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House on February 9 for talks focused on Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, according to a statement released Saturday.
The two leaders will reaffirm “their resolute support for Ukraine’s defense of its land and its people against Russia’s war of aggression,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The announcement comes as money for US aid to Ukraine has run out due to Republican opposition in Congress, leaving the key US ally short of ammunition as its war against Russia’s invasion is about to enter its third year.
Scholz warns EU weapons support for Ukraine ‘not big enough’
Republicans have linked the Ukraine deal to funds to counter immigration at the US-Mexican border following lobbying by Donald Trump, the former president and likely Republican nominee to contest the November presidential election.
For its part, Germany, Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons donor, has so far refused to send long-range missiles to Kyiv, which it desperately wants.
Berlin is wary that Ukraine will use the missiles to strike inside Russia.
Biden and Scholz will also discuss “efforts to prevent regional escalation in the Middle East, their steadfast support for Israel’s right to self-defense, and the imperative of increasing life-saving assistance and protection of civilians from harm in Gaza,” Jean-Pierre said.
The leaders will also coordinate in advance of the NATO Summit in Washington in July.
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