Biden meets Poroshenko in Kyiv, reassures support
Fighting corruption is one of Ukraine’s “national security interests”. Failure, he warned, would likely mean the loss of much-needed worldwide support and would have harmful consequences in building a united and democratic Europe. Let me be crystal clear: “The United States does not, has not, never will recognize Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea“, said Biden, addressing members of the Ukrainian Rada Monday before concluding a two-day visit to Ukraine, reported Voice of America.
He also urged lawmakers to fight corruption, warning that the future of Ukraine is at stake.
Biden will also speak to Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk later Monday and address the Ukrainian parliament Tuesday. A recent poll by the Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute for Social Research showed that 72 percent of those asked do not believe Ukraine is heading in the right direction, saying either the reform process is moving too slowly or not at all. “You can not find any democracy in the world with so progressing cancer of corruption, you can not find any such country”.
Yet Biden arrives in a rustic whose morale is sagging due to Poroshenko’s seeming incapability to erase the corruption that has ravaged Ukraine for a lot of its current historical past.
Ukrainian parliamentarians, known for spirited debates that sometimes devolve into fisticuffs, have been slow to pass a slew of bills that the US and the European Union say will help overhaul the country’s corrupt systems.
The Kakhovskyy-Titan power line was reconnected overnight “with agreement from activists involved in the energy and food blockade of Crimea“, said authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, quoted by Interfax news agency.
“Moscow has to fully implement the Minsk agreement and work constructively with Ukraine to create the conditions for free, fair and safe local elections to occur in Donbass”, Biden said, referring to the collective name for the two rebel regions.
Ukraine on Tuesday partially restored power supplies to Crimea after a series of explosions during protests by opponents of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula damaged the high voltage lines.
“Minsk cannot succeed if Russian Federation doesn’t fulfill its commitments, and President Putin fails to live up to the promises that he repeatedly made to my President, to you and to the global community”, said Biden.
Biden, who has been in Kyiv since Sunday, previously assured Ukraine of USA support and announced the release of an additional $190 million in US aid to help conduct structural reforms.
But Biden brought a message of reassurance to Kyiv.