A senior administration official said the primary aim of Vice President Biden’s visit to Ukraine is to assure a staunch US support against Russia’s provocative incursion in the region. “It is absolutely critical for Ukraine to root out the cancer of corruption…”
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“The US stands firmly with the people of Ukraine in the face of continued, I emphasise, continued aggression from Russia and Russian-backed separatists”, he told Ukrainian President Poroshenko.
“A lot of hard work remains, including reform of Ukraine’s law and justice sectors, but the payoff will be worth it”, said Biden, who will address parliament on Tuesday.
The crisis-torn nation also offered Moscow the same 20-percent debt cut condition regarding its $3.0 billion loan.
The move is part of EU’s attempt to seek closer ties with Ukraine, which is a priority partner country within the bloc’s neighborhood policy.
Ukrainian officials fear the conflict has been overshadowed by the civil war in Syria and the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, right, shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden after they delivered a statement on the results of talks in Kiev, Ukraine Monday, Dec. 7, 2015.
The pact, reached in February, was meant to de-escalate hostilities in the east. While violence between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russia separatists “has decreased somewhat in recent months”, it continues to flare up, the official said.
Many reformist politicians, activists and other Ukrainian citizens accuse Mr Poroshenko and the government of prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of dragging their feet on overhauling the tax and judicial systems, and of doing too little to stop dodgy deals.
Russia has a list of changes it wants made to allay concerns that the agreement will interfere with Russia-Ukraine trade.
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Both the U.S. and European Union have slapped stiff financial sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s internal circle and have helped practice and equip Ukraine’s dilapidated and underfunded military with defensive gear corresponding to superior radar.
