Trump halts foreign aid: Implications for Ukraine relations
The US president, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order suspending international aid. What does this mean for future assistance to Kyiv? Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Centre for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, has issued a statement on the matter.
The White House website published an order indicating that President Trump has suspended all US foreign aid programmes for 90 days. The purpose of this decision is to assess their alignment with the president's foreign policy.
The document emphasised that "no further foreign assistance from the United States can be provided in a manner that is not fully aligned with the president's foreign policy."
"The decree signed by US President Donald Trump, which halts international aid for 90 days, does not include military assistance for Ukraine," Kovalenko wrote on Tuesday on Telegram.
Reactions to Trump's decision
According to Trump, the previous method of delivering aid did not favour "world peace" because "it promoted ideas in foreign countries that were directly contrary to harmonious and stable internal and international relations."
David Arakhamia, head of the parliamentary faction of the presidential Servant of the People party, who was present at Trump's inauguration, said that representatives of the Ukrainian authorities might hold talks with the team of the new US president in early February during what's called Ukrainian Week.
- I think that's where (during Ukrainian Week) the main processes and negotiations with Trump's new team will occur. So, we're waiting, and in a few weeks we will have all the necessary information - explained Arakhamia on Ukrainian television.
Ukrainian Week will be held in Washington from 3rd to 8th February. The event will include a series of meetings, roundtables, and forums to gather representatives from both countries to discuss key partnership issues.
