US unwillingness to finance Ukraine and readiness to soften sanctions. What the media say
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- US unwillingness to finance Ukraine and readiness to soften sanctions. What the media say
The rift between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to affect settlement efforts. The U.S. Congress no longer intends to finance Kiev, and the White House admits easing sanctions against Russia. What the media write about the relations between the United States and Ukraine - in the Izvestia digest.
Reuters: US Congress does not want to allocate new funds to Ukraine
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson said on February 20 that he has "no desire" to pass another bill to fund Ukraine. The comments from a top Republican leader came amid growing uncertainty over future US support for Kiev and a war of words between Trump and Zelensky.
Reuters
"There is no desire to engage in this," Johnson declared. <...> - We have to put an end to the <military operation>. And I can tell you that our European allies also understand that need. It has dragged on far too long."
Johnson said Trump needed space to mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine and that Zelensky's "complaints" about Ukraine not being invited to the Saudi meeting were "misplaced." Johnson's comments reflected a shift in sentiment in the U.S. Congress, which approved $175 billion in aid to Ukraine when Democrats held a majority in the Senate and held the White House.
Associated Press: press conference between Zelensky and Trump's special counsel canceled due to tensions
A press conference that was supposed to follow talks between Zelensky and Keith Kellogg, the U.S. president's special envoy to Ukraine, was canceled because of escalating political tensions between the two countries over how to end the conflict with Russia. The format of the event was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity in front of reporters.
Associated Press
Dozens of journalists gathered at the Ukrainian president's office in Kiev after being invited to take photos and watch Zelensky and Kellogg's news conference. When the meeting began, photographers and video journalists were allowed into the room, where the two men shook hands before sitting across from each other at a table. Journalists were then told there would be no press conference with remarks from the leaders or questions from reporters.
Earlier, Zelensky said he was looking forward to showing Kellogg what was happening in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president said in his Telegram channel that the meeting with Trump's special envoy was "a good conversation with a lot of details." He said they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine and the return of Ukrainian prisoners.
Al Jazeera: Walz demands Zelensky return to mineral talks
US presidential national security adviser Mike Walz has demanded that Zelensky return to negotiations on a mineral deal amid a deepening rift between Washington and Kiev. The comments came shortly after the U.S. canceled a planned press conference with Zelensky and Kellogg in Kiev.
Al Jazeera
"He needs to get back to the negotiating table," Walz said of Zelensky at Thursday's press conference. - President Trump is obviously very disappointed right now with President Zelensky, with the fact that he has not sat down at the negotiating table, that he has been unwilling to take this opportunity that we offered him."
Walz said some of the rhetoric coming out of Kiev and the insults directed at Trump were unacceptable. Earlier, Zelensky claimed that the US President lives in a "disinformation space".
Bloomberg: the United States is ready to soften sanctions against Russia
The U.S. has signaled that easing sanctions against Russia could be negotiated over the conflict in Ukraine as Trump rushes to strike a deal to end it. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States could either tighten or ease sanctions depending on the Kremlin's willingness to negotiate, but Ukraine must also make its own moves to do so.
Bloomberg
"The sequence of what had to happen was this: bring the Ukrainians closer to the United States through economic ties, convince the American people, the American public, get them on their side," Bessent said. - And then to tell the Russians to come to the negotiating table with a very scathing message that if we need to, we will lift the sanctions."
Bessent said Zelensky assured him before the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine would sign a $500 billion deal transferring Ukrainian mineral rights, but then refused to do so. The deal would have laid the groundwork for the plan, reimbursing the U.S. for money spent on arming Ukraine.
Reuters: US refuses to co-sponsor UN resolution in support of Ukraine
The US is refusing to co-sponsor a draft UN resolution that supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and demands that Russia withdraw troops. This could be a major shift in the position of Ukraine's most influential Western ally.
Reuters
Washington also objected to a phrase in a statement the G7 countries planned to issue next week that would have condemned Russian aggression <...>. The US refusal to agree to the language, which has been used regularly by the UN and G7 since February 2022, comes amid a growing rift between President Zelensky and Trump.
Ukraine's allies have used the previous two anniversaries of the start of the special operation to reiterate their condemnation of Russia, but this year it is unclear how the United States will feel about it. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view of events. So far, more than 50 countries have supported a resolution in support of Ukraine.
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