NATO chief Stoltenberg urges US House to pass military aid package for Ukraine, says China watching

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday to pass a “vital” multibillion-dollar military aid package for Ukraine, warning that if Russia wins the war, China will be empowered. Stoltenberg emphasised that Europe and Canada were also stepping up their aid to Ukraine. He stated that their combined economic and military assistance to Kyiv was greater than what the United States had offered. But he said the U.S. report “remains vital”. “If President Putin wins in Ukraine, it will send a message to him but also to other authoritarian leaders that they get what they want when they use military force. It will make the world more dangerous (and) us more vulnerable,” he added. “I count on the House of Representatives to agree support to Ukraine, because this is not charity. This is an investment in our own security,” Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, told Reuters in an interview. “Today it is Ukraine, tomorrow it can be in Taiwan. So Beijing, China is watching closely what’s going on in Ukraine.” The U.S. Senate passed a $95.34 billion package of military aid for Ukraine and other U.S. allies on Tuesday. But it is unclear whether the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will even take up the proposal. The approval of both houses of Congress is necessary before Democratic President Joe Biden can sign it into law. Biden has been pushing for the package, which also includes security funding for Israel and Taiwan and humanitarian aid for Palestinians, for months, but has faced opposition from Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement before the Senate vote that faulted the bill for lacking conservative provisions to stem a record flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, suggesting he would not schedule a vote any time soon. With inputs from Reuters.