U.S. President Joe Biden has submitted to Congress a statement of intent to cancel half of Ukraine's economic aid debt, a sum of around $4.65 billion, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing on Nov. 20.
The supplemental security assistance package worth $61 billion that Congress provided to Ukraine in April included about $10 billion in economic aid as a loan, rather than a grant. The terms of the offer gave Biden the authority to forgive up to 50 percent of the loan.
"We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress is welcome to take it up if they wish," Miller told reporters.
Miller said Biden's statement of intent was delivered to Congress within the last week.
While Congress does have the option to overturn the president's request, Miller said he expected U.S. lawmakers to support the debt cancellation.
"I would be surprised if Congress took that step (to overturn the request) given the overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress for providing assistance, but we will follow the law," he said.
With only two months until President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Biden administration has pledged to shore up support for Kyiv before the presidential transition.
Biden has promised to deliver the remaining $6 billion in allocated aid to Ukraine before Trump's inauguration. He has also approved the delivery of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine and reportedly authorized Kyiv to strike targets in Russia with long-range ATACMS missiles.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
