U.S. Congress discusses engagement of Persian Gulf countries in sending arms to Ukraine

"First, we will assist Ukraine to defend against aggression and, second, it will weaken Russia's actions in Syria and thus solve a part of the problems that we face there," U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL) said in his evaluation of the benefits for shipping weapons to Ukraine. U.S. Representative Randy Weber (R-TX) said that he was impressed by the idea voiced by his colleague. "I am impressed by the idea of ​​my colleague, Mr. Brooks, that arming Ukrainians may increase Russian losses and thus distract Moscow’s attention from Syria. And if the Persian Gulf countries are so generous with their money, maybe they would help provide weapons to Ukrainians," he said. "No, this question never arose, as far as I know,"  noted Anne Patterson, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Meanwhile, Mo Brooks believes that the Minsk accords will not help Ukraine to regain control over its occupied territories. He also asked the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland at the meeting whether the White House was considering the issue of sending weapons to Ukraine which is aimed at weakening Russia in Syria. In her response Nuland noted that the conflict in Donbas should be resolved by peaceful means. Moreover, she agreed with Brooks’ remarks that the Minsk agreements have failed concerning regaining of control over the occupied territories by Kyiv. Earlier in the summer, U.S. Senate passed the bill by a majority vote on the defense budget, which also provides for supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine.