U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said Monday after meeting with the president of Ukraine that he is confident that a financial package for Kyiv, currently blocked in the U.S. Congress, will be approved soon, but asked that the aid be in the form of interest. The loan was reduced to make it easier for American taxpayers who are concerned about their own security at the border to accept, Reuters and News.ro reported.

Lindsey Graham said he fully supports additional aid to Ukraine, but told Ukrainians they should consider domestic issues in the U.S. that loom over the bill’s passage, including border security.

He and other Republicans support the idea of ​​loans rather than grants to make spending more stable and more affordable, a plan supported by former President Donald Trump, who is preparing to return to the White House.

“If you want to get help for Ukraine, you better start talking to the American taxpayer. Better start talking to them about what’s going on. There are debts of 34,000 billion (dollars),” Graham said at a press conference held after talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Can we offer an interest-free loan? So. Will Ukraine be able to cope with this? So. I think President Zelensky would be happy to get weapons in any way we could provide them to him,” said the American congressman.

President Joe Biden asked Congress to support a bill that would provide about $60 billion in additional aid to Ukraine. The bill passed the Democratic-led Senate, but cannot become law unless it also passes the Republican-led House of Representatives. House leaders, who have so far refused to hold a vote on the issue, are close allies of Trump.

“We must also address our own people,” says the American senator

Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a video speech Monday night that he briefed Graham on the situation on the battlefield, where Russian forces have made some recent gains but the front line has changed little in the past few months.

Zelenskyi did not mention the aid package or loan offer mentioned by Graham, but said he discussed with him “continued cooperation and support for Ukraine.”

“All our actions must be planned, far-reaching and as effective as possible to allow free countries to continue to live in freedom and security,” Zelenskyy said.

Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said he was “more optimistic than ever” about the House’s support for the measure. According to him, 70 percent of Republicans in the Senate understand the need to help Ukraine, as do the same number of Republicans in the House of Representatives. “But we have a vulnerable border at home. So when I go to South Carolina, they say, “Do you want to help Ukraine?” Well, what about our own border?”, he explained. “As political leaders, we must also address our own people,” said the Republican senator.

An interest-free loan, he said, “makes a lot of sense.” Graham said he discussed it with House Speaker Mike Johnson before his trip to Ukraine and “hopes” it will be in the package “in the next few days, not weeks.”

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