New Delhi: Days after US president Donald Trump berated Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, the US has suspended military aid to the country.
The New York Times is among outlets who have quoted a senior administration official who said the “aid would not resume until President Trump determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.”
The temporary suspension order will take effect immediately.
Trump and his senior national security aides reportedly met to discuss the matter – at the end of which this pause was announced.
It is going to affect “more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline,” NYT says. Trump has also paused the supply of hundreds of millions of dollars that were meant to
“President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” DW noted an official as saying.
On February 25, three years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a Trump-led US had joined Russia, Belarus and North Korea in voting against a EU and Ukraine-backed resolution for peace in the region.
In the immediate aftermath of this, Zelenskyy had travelled to Washington to sign a critical and controversial minerals deal when the prickly talk took place at the Oval Office. It was broadcast live. Zelenskyy abruptly departed the White House without signing the deal.
