Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives calls meeting with Zelenskyy "good," but position on aid to Ukraine unchanged
Kyiv • UNN
Mike Johnson met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and emphasized that the US should prioritize solving its border problems before providing aid to Ukraine, criticizing the White House's lack of a clear strategy and oversight of spending.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had a "good" meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he remained firm in his position that the US must first resolve the border issue before moving forward with an aid bill, UNN reports citing CNN.
"From the very beginning... we needed clarity on what we were doing in Ukraine and how we would have proper oversight of the spending of precious taxpayer dollars, and we needed transformational changes at the border. So far, we've gotten neither," Johnson said, calling the border "an absolute disaster."
"The first condition for any additional national security spending package is first and foremost our own national security," he added.
Johnson insisted that the White House had failed to articulate a clear strategy to help Ukraine win and criticized the Senate.
He did not take questions from reporters after the roughly 30-minute meeting with Zelenskiy, which was their first one-on-one meeting.
Addendum
Earlier it was reportedthat Mike Johnson, the Republican spokesman for the US House of Representatives, threatened to withdraw support for new funding for aid to Ukraine if the White House does not agree to strengthen border security.
