Biden makes 2-day trip to Ukraine in sign of US support
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is coming to Ukraine’s capital for a two-day visit aimed at pushing the country toward making reforms and reassuring it that the crisis in Syria is not overshadowing Washington’s concerns about Ukraine.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists has significantly diminished since early September, but tensions remain high because of unresolved questions about the final political status of the rebel regions in the east. Meanwhile, Western attention has turned largely toward the fight against Islamic extremism in Syria and Iraq.
Since Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30, Ukrainian officials have worried their own country’s troubles would fade from view.
Biden, who arrives late Sunday, will hold meetings Monday with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk intended to counter that concern.