U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that Washington remained determined to see Russian Federation adhere to a shaky Ukrainian peace agreement and hand back Crimea to Kyiv.
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The UN also noted Ukraine’s failure to prosecute those responsible for deadly violence during its 2013-2014 anti-government uprising and in Odessa in May 2014, and reported claims of growing repression in Crimea since its annexation by Russian Federation.
“We have no choice but to file a lawsuit against Ukraine in case of the borrower’s non-fulfillment of its obligations in full by December 20 of this year, which will mean a sovereign default in Ukraine”, Russia’s Finance Ministry said in a statement.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned Ukraine against backsliding in the fight against corruption.
Russia’s seizure of Crimea and the pro-Kremlin revolt came just weeks after public protests toppled former president Viktor Yanukovych – a Moscow-backed leader who led a lavish lifestyle and surrounded himself with tycoons suspected of graft. It should be recalled that during his speech at the Brookings Institution at the end of May, 2015, Biden particularly emphasised Ukraine needs to use newly introduced laws and policies to investigate and prosecute corruption on all levels in order for its reforms to succeed.
Biden’s visit and his tough message for Moscow threaten to complicate increased U.S. efforts to work with Russian Federation to resolve the Syrian conflict and fight the Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.
“Ukraine has 1,833 state corporations that are a persistent source of corruption”, said Anders Aslund of the US-based Atlantic Council.
But Biden has repeated the same themes on this two-day visit. “You have to reform the whole prosecution and judiciary”.
“It is no exaggeration to say the hopes of freedom-loving people the world over are with you, because so much rides on your fragile experiment with democracy succeeding”, Biden said. Moreover, US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has criticised the General Prosecutor’s Office on numerous occasions, by stressing its responsibility in fighting corruption in Ukraine. “The United States continues to stand with the people of Ukraine in the face of continued…aggression from Russia and Russian-backed separatists”, Biden said.
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While two people were sentenced to four years each for their roles in attacks on a group of activists, at least two key suspects in the killing of Ukraine’s “Heavenly Hundred” were allowed to escape the country, along with the officials believed to have ordered the attack.
