Negotiations in US Congress extremely difficult, but progress seen - Herbst

Despite the extraordinary complexity of the discussions between Democrats and Republicans regarding the border protection issue, on which the approval of further support for Ukraine in the U.S. Congress depends, as the negotiations are still ongoing.

John Herbst, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, now director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, told about this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Well, this is a hard issue. It's hard politically," the ambassador noted in the context of negotiations conducted by lawmakers in Washington.

He expressed his belief that it would be useful for the United States and the campaign of President Biden to resolve the issue of border control with Mexico, which many Americans consider a source of danger. At the same time, according to him, the combination of border issues, aid to Ukraine and Israel was the result of the populist instincts of a small group of Republicans. They, Herbst emphasized, "have no idea of how important defeating Russia in Ukraine is to American interests."

However, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine noted, the negotiations are moving forward.

"I believe that, in fact, progress has been made. But I also think the Biden administration would like to offer as little as possible on the border in order to get the aid. And the Republicans want to get as much as possible on the border in order to agree on the aid," said Herbst.

He did not rule out that in the event of complications in the discussions in Congress after the New Year, the situation with the approval of critical aid to Ukraine may drag on for several months. "I hope it doesn't, but I think that's a possibility," said Herbst.

In this regard, he added that there is a small group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives who really want to “kill” the aid to Ukraine.

"But if there is a deal, which includes serious controls on the border, it will probably be impossible for them to do that. They have to accept the deal," Herbst emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, according to the most optimistic forecasts of American lawmakers, the US Congress may approve an additional aid package for Ukraine as early as mid-January. In this regard, the Biden administration notes that negotiations in the Senate are developing "in the right direction."