Prospect of Harris's victory slows down $50 billion loan to Ukraine

The growing popularity of U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris has reduced the prospects for a quick agreement on the terms of a $50 billion loan to Ukraine.

Politico learned this from a number of officials.

Before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race for the White House, the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency had pushed diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic to put aside their differences to finalize the loan process by the end of the year.

But the prospect of a Harris victory has removed some of the urgency from the issue. Although officials feared that Trump would tear up the loan agreement and cut aid to Ukraine, they believe that the Democratic candidate is unlikely to do anything of the sort, and that she actually has a chance of winning the presidency.

As a result, the split between the EU and the US over the details of a loan that would be repaid from the profits from the investment of frozen Russian assets is becoming increasingly apparent, according to two EU officials with knowledge of the negotiations.

“The whole idea was to protect (aid to Ukraine) from Trump, but now the situation with Harris is different,” said one of the officials, who, like the others, wished to remain anonymous.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 05/09/2024