John Kirby admitted that he could not promise Ukraine to keep the aid, even though most Democratic and Republican members of Congress in both chambers supported this.
— There are only a few Republicans who want to stay [pomoc dla Ukrainy] As a hostage, demanding a rather extreme border policy – Kirby said, referring to the blocking of the $61 billion bill by Republicans on Wednesday. Expenses related to support for Ukraine.
Joe Biden wants to negotiate, but not publicly
He stressed that although the president does not agree to extreme solutions, he wants to enter into negotiations in good faith on changes in immigration policy. However, he declined to “negotiate publicly” or provide details about a potential settlement.
– It is about settlement. In a settlement, no one gets everything they want. But that’s not what we’re hearing from House Republicans. They adopt a “take no prisoners” or all or nothing attitude. Well, this isn’t just a good-faith negotiation, Kirby said.
End of war? The decision is in Kyiv’s hands
When asked about possible negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, the White House representative said that the decision in this matter rests solely with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
– Sitting there and looking forward, you can see many Russians there, and their number is increasing because of this Putin continues to recruit additional forces to join the fight (…) so we want him to be prepared to deal with this, able not only to defend himself, but also to go on the offensive (…) we want him to give him the tools to do that – He said.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre added that the reforms sought by House Speaker Mike Johnson would mean deporting children without their parents or detaining all migrant families at the border.