The White House says it is optimistic about the question of future US aid for Ukraine, following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and the leaders of both parties in Congress. Biden was encouraged by the progress made in the negotiations and is striving for a bipartisan agreement, according to a White House statement on Wednesday evening. The Republicans have linked the release of further funds for Ukraine to a tightening of asylum policy in the US. Biden, a Democrat, had called the meeting on Wednesday in order to get the debate moving. The Republican Chairman of the House of Represent…