Biden says Russia must fulfil Ukraine peace deal, hand back Crimea
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said during a visit to Kyiv on Monday that Washington remained committed to its demands for Russia to adhere to a shaky Ukrainian peace agreement and hand back Crimea to Kyiv.
Washington and the European Union support Kyiv’s view of Russia being an “aggressor” that orchestrated the separatist revolt in reprisal for the February 2014 ouster of a Moscow-backed president — an assertion the Kremlin denies.
Biden also took the opportunity to urge Ukrainian authorities to do more to tackle the rampant graft that has plagued the county for much of its recent history, amid growing discontent among Ukrainians over Poroshenko’s seeming inability to end the scourge.