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What does war in the Middle East mean for Ukraine’s Western backing? [1]
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Date: 2023-11
Kyiv fears the war in Ukraine will be shunted down America’s foreign policy agenda by the escalating crisis in the Middle East, Ukrainian diplomats and politicians have told openDemocracy.
The US presidential election is not due for another year, but Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza has brought forward questions about continuing US support for Ukraine.
“We were prepared for political turbulence to hit us, but we didn’t think it would happen so quickly,” a source in Ukrainian diplomatic circles told openDemocracy on condition of anonymity.
The focus has quickly shifted to the US ally of Israel – and how exactly the US will decide to support both states.
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Former Ukrainian foreign minister Pavel Klimkin summed up the problem to openDemocracy: “When you are friends with the West, their interests become yours, but your interests do not always become theirs.”
While Joe Biden has reaffirmed US backing for Ukraine, proposing a $100bn package to assist Ukraine, Israel, the Pacific region and US border security collectively, the new speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson suggested last week that Congress should vote on US military assistance to Ukraine and Israel separately.
Kyiv is understood to see this as bad news for Ukraine, as any vote on US assistance to Ukraine will likely be delayed in comparison to assistance to Israel.
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[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-israel-palestine-us-support-zelenskyi/
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