British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Thursday urged US lawmakers to approve fresh aid for Ukraine to help fund Kyiv’s battle against Russian forces.
“I’m not worried about the strength, unity, consensus, and bravery of the Ukrainian people… I’m worried that we’re not going to do what we need to do,” Cameron told the Aspen Security Forum in the US capital.
“We’ve got to make sure we give them the weapons, the economic support, the moral support, the diplomatic support, but crucially, that military support that can make a difference.”
Cameron, the former British prime minister, was making his first official visit to Washington since he was named to the post of foreign secretary.
After meeting later in the day with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Cameron stressed the need to help “Ukraine in every way we can to resist (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion.”
He added that despite Ukraine’s counter-offensive largely failing to pierce Russian lines, there “has been progress.”
The offensive has called into question the West’s continuation of massive aid to Ukraine.
“If you actually stand back and look at the overall picture of what’s happening between Ukraine and Russia, it is a massive defeat for Putin,” he said.
On Wednesday, the US Senate blocked a White House request for $106 billion in emergency aid primarily for Ukraine and Israel.
It was a setback for President Joe Biden, who had urged lawmakers to approve the funds, warning that Putin would not stop with victory in Ukraine and could even attack a NATO nation.
“We should pass this money to the Ukrainians,” Cameron said. “We should back them and make sure that it’s Putin that loses because if that money doesn’t get voted through, there are only two people that will be smiling.”
One of them is Putin, and “the other one is Xi Jinping in Beijing,” Cameron said. “And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give either of those people a Christmas present.”
