US senate rejects proposal to block Ukraine's debt cancellation

The United States Senate has failed to approve a proposal aimed at canceling a portion of Ukraine's public debt, which amounts to $4.65 billion.

Earlier in the day, Matthew Miller, the Spokesperson for the US Department of State, confirmed that the Washington administration had notified lawmakers this week about its plan to cancel part of Kyiv's debt, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

As Miller explained, “Congress has the option to pass a resolution of disapproval to reverse this debt forgiveness.” However, the Senate took no action on the proposed resolution.

He further clarified, “When Congress approved the supplemental appropriations bill in April, it granted us the authority to provide a specific amount of economic assistance to Ukraine, some of which was in the form of loans. Under the terms of the bill, we had the discretion to cancel those loans. Congress, in turn, has the option to pass a resolution of disapproval to block that cancellation. We’ve followed the procedure outlined in the law to forgive these loans and offer economic support to Ukraine, and now Congress is free to address the matter if they choose to do so.”

By Vafa Guliyeva