White House administration appealed to Congress with a request to cancel Ukraine’s debt

White House administration appealed to Congress with a request to cancel Ukraine’s debt

The administration of the current U.S. President Joe Biden has approached Congress with a request to cancel half of Ukraine’s debt for economic assistance. This involves "writing off" approximately $4.65 billion.

The information about the submission of the request was confirmed by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller during a briefing on Wednesday, November 20.

This was reported by "Voice of America".

Miller explained on what basis this part of the loan could be annulled.

Back in April 2024, the U.S. Congress passed the Additional Appropriations for Ukraine Security Act amounting to approximately $61 billion. Under its terms, about $10 billion of this money is provided to Kyiv not for free, but as a conditionally repayable loan.

The document grants Joe Biden the authority to annul 50% of this loan, while the other 50% can be written off by Donald Trump.

The law stipulates that from November 15, 2024, a week after the U.S. presidential elections, the current head of state can annul up to 50% of this loan, while the other 50% of the loan can be annulled from January 1, 2026, by the next president.

"We have taken the step outlined in the law to annul these loans for the provided economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress can approve it," said Miller.

According to the spokesman, lawmakers are not expected to oppose this decision.

"I would be surprised if Congress acted otherwise, given the significant bipartisan support in Congress for aid provision. But we will adhere to the law," the spokesman explained.