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LONDON — U.S. Republicans are “shameful” for blocking fresh military aid to Ukraine and holding the country “hostage to some other political objective,” according to staunchly conservative former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Abbott, ex-leader of the center-right Liberal Party in Australia, told POLITICO that Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has been “all politics and no statesmanship” in his handling of the issue.
Republican lawmakers are withholding their support for new military aid to Ukraine without further funds to stop the flow of illegal border crossings from Mexico.
Senate Republicans this week blocked a $118 billion package which would have sent foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, while also allocating more money to shore up the country’s southern border.
Abbott won election in 2013 on a platform centered largely on stopping illegal migration and reversing measures aimed at cutting carbon emissions.
He is no stranger to conservative U.S. politics, and has spoken several times at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Speaking at an event for the Legatum Institute think tank in London, Abbott said he could “absolutely understand why a lot of Americans, particularly the Republicans, are unhappy with what is happening on the border.”
“And yes the Republicans want to pressure the administration into doing more — fair enough,” he said.
“But you should not make something as important as continuing support for the Ukraine hostage to some other political objective.”
Abbott added: “It is absolutely in the interest of every free country that Putin’s aggression fails.”
Congressional Republicans are also being pressured to refuse any bipartisan bill on Ukraine and border security by the party’s likely presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Trump said this week that increased measures at the border “should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form.”
Abbott refused to directly criticize Trump, despite the ex-president’s refusal to commit to a continuation of American support for Ukraine if he wins office later this year.
“I’ve tried to make it my rule not to be critical of the leader [of the] free world. And he was and could be again,” the Australian said.
“I just hope that he appreciates, I hope everyone appreciates, that the Ukrainians are fighting for everyone’s freedom — not just their own.”
