Trump offers conditions for Ukraine aid renewal — RT World News
The former president called for only loans, not gifts, and insisted that European allies match American funding
Former US President Donald Trump has indicated that he would not oppose Congress approving more aid to Ukraine as long as the aid is provided in the form of loans, not gifts. He also insisted that European allies must match the level of assistance Washington is providing to Kiev.
Speaking to reporters on Friday alongside US House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump announced his support for the embattled Republican leader. Asked whether he would give his blessing to the Ukrainian aid legislation if Johnson put the bill to a vote, he said: “We're thinking about making it a loan, rather than just a gift. We're continuing to dole out gifts of billions and billions of dollars, and we'll take a look at it.”
Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee in this year's presidential elections and is ahead in opinion polls over current President Joe Biden. He first floated the idea of converting Ukraine aid into loans in February, and has repeatedly claimed that he would end Kiev's conflict with Moscow within 24 hours by forcing both sides to the negotiating table.
JUST IN – President Trump takes questions flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago following the vote to renew the FISA: Trump: 'I'm not a big fan of FISA.' pic.twitter.com/SbaCjD1zMM
– Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 12, 2024
Republican lawmakers have been blocking approval of new aid to Ukraine since last fall, arguing that Biden is only prolonging the bloodshed while offering no strategy to end the bloodshed. However, Johnson is said to be willing to allow a $60 billion Ukraine funding bill to come to a vote in the House of Representatives, despite opposition from a majority of Republicans. With Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally, threatening to push for a vote to oust Johnson, the Speaker of Parliament traveled to Florida on Friday to meet with the former president.
“The situation is not easy for any speaker.” Trump told reporters. “I think he's doing a very good job. He's doing as good a job as you're going to do.” He added that if new American aid to Ukraine is approved, “Europe has to step up, they have to equalize that. They are not equalizing. I am very upset about that because they are affected much more than we are.”
Trump repeated his claim that the Russia-Ukraine conflict would never have happened if he had still been president. Trump claimed that Biden's incompetence opened the door to the Ukrainian crisis and the war between Israel and Hamas. He added that under the leadership of his successor, “We are a nation in decline. We are a nation in decline.”
Trump also warned that conflicts in Ukraine and Israel could escalate significantly even before the US election in November. “A lot of bad things happen in our country, but that's the least of it. You have Russia, and you could end up with a world war between Russia and Ukraine and all the chaos.”
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