US President Joe Biden has invited his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington for talks on December 12, as Democrats try to reach a deal in Congress to provide additional aid to Kiev.
In a statement on December 10, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that during the meeting, President Biden and his counterpart Zelensky are expected to discuss Ukraine's urgent needs and the importance of Washington's support measures for Kiev at this time.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President of Ukraine announced that Mr. Zelensky will arrive in Washington on December 11.
During the talks with host country President Biden, the two sides are expected to discuss bilateral defense cooperation issues, specifically cooperation projects in the production of weapons and air defense systems as well as cooperation plans for 2024.
This will be President Zelensky's third visit to the US since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022. During the visit, Mr. Zelensky is also expected to meet with US Congressional leaders.
The Ukrainian leader's visit to Washington comes as US lawmakers have yet to reach a consensus on a $106 billion supplemental budget bill, including $61.4 billion in aid to Kiev.
Last week, speaking at the White House, President Biden called on Congress to approve a supplemental aid bill, while affirming that he was willing to make concessions on border security in exchange for Republicans passing the bill.
The President of Ukraine will address a live session of all US senators on Capitol Hill and at the White House on December 12.
The relentless ground conflict in eastern and southern Ukraine is entering winter as the country faces troop shortages, uncertainty over military aid and divisions within the European Union (EU), observers say.
Mr Zelenskiy is also scheduled to meet with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Washington, Bloomberg reported.
Before going to the US, on December 10, Mr. Zelensky visited Argentina to attend the inauguration of new President Javier Milei. This was the first trip of the Ukrainian President to South America since the outbreak of the military conflict with Russia.
KHANH HUNG
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