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The Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Chuck Schumer, said this Sunday that “a consensus” has been advanced between the White House and Congressional leaders to approve the sending of aid to both Israel and Ukraine, after a call with President Joe Biden.
This Sunday the American president spoke with Schumer, the president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and minority leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Mitch McConnell, on tension in the Middle East, following Iran’s attack on Israel.
“There was a consensus that we have to help Israel and Ukraine now. Hopefully we can resolve it next week,” said the Democratic leader at a press conference in New York.
The US Senate approved a supplemental aid package for Israel and Ukraine last February but Johnson has not brought it to a vote in the House. The Republican leader has also failed twice to approve funding for Israel.
“The best way to help Israel rebuild its anti-missile and anti-drone capabilities is to approve that additional aid immediately,” said Schumer.
The voices of consensus were heard since this Saturday when the majority leader of the House of Representatives, Steve Scalise, announced a change in the legislative calendar to “consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable,” according to a statement.
For his part, Johnson told the program Sunday Morning Futures that will try again this week to approve the funds.
The consensus between Democrats and Republicans comes after Iran launched more than 300 drones, missiles and ballistic missiles at Israel on Saturday, in what was the first attack of this type from Iranian soil.
Israel – with help from the United States, the United Kingdom and neighboring Jordan – managed to intercept 99% of these missiles, most of them outside Israeli airspace.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Sunday called for a “decisive and united” global response to the “terror” of Iran and Russia, condemning Tehran’s overnight attack on Israel.
“Ukraine condemns Iran’s attack against Israel with Shahed drones and missiles,” he wrote on the social network X, calling for everything possible to be done to avoid an “escalation” in the Middle East.
“In Ukraine we know well the horror of similar attacks by Russia, which uses the same Shahed drones and Russian missiles, the same tactics of massive air strikes,” he added, referring to the Iranian-made drones.
The Ukrainian leader stated that “Iran’s actions threaten the entire region and the world, just as Russia’s actions threaten a broader conflict, and the obvious collaboration between both regimes to sow terror must receive a decisive and united world.”
“It is essential that the US Congress make the necessary decisions to strengthen US allies at this critical moment,” advocated Zelensky, who demands more military aid from his partners to confront the Russian invasion, which began more than two years ago.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
