Biden’s slamming speech

“A test” for the entire world – this is how US Vice-President Joe Biden described the Russia-Ukraine conflict in his speech before the International Advisory Council at the Brookings Institute (Washington, DC) on May 27. “It is not a remote conflict between neighbors arguing over who gets what, what is happening in Ukraine is about much, much, much more than that. It is about the rights of nations to choose their own futures; it is about the future of NATO, our collective self-defense, and our unity, our strength, our ability to deter aggression together. … Helping Ukraine in its defense and deterrence against Russian aggression is critical, critical to checking further aggression down the road. … What happened in Ukraine and how the world responded has, I think, consequential implications for the nature of international order in the years to come. … China and many other nations are watching very closely how the world responds,” emphasized Vice President Biden.

The speech titled “Remarks on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Its Implications for European Security” is also important because it was made on the eve of the G7 Summit in Germany, where the situation in Ukraine will be discussed.

Biden accused Russia’s president of “brutal aggression” against Ukraine and added that Vladimir Putin is responsible for “aggressive repression at home.” He went on to say that for any further aggression in Ukraine Russia will pay an even higher price. According to Biden, the US and NATO will make every effort to stop Putin’s policy of intimidating the neighboring nations.

The US vice president called Putin a “practical guy” and expressed certainty that Russia’s president would try to achieve the maximum possible in Ukraine. At the same time, Biden urged Europe to prolong the sanctions against Russia and promised that the American sanctions would remain in place.

Biden assured that the US would keep providing assistance to Ukraine. He said that the White House was still considering the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine. Moreover, the American vice president urged Kyiv to go on with further reforms, in particular, what he called “the four Ds”: deregulation, debureaucratization, deoligarchization, and decentralization.

The US government has already provided over 470 million dollars in economic assistance and endorsed two loan guaranties, one billion each. Potentially, there can come a further one billion dollars at the end of this year, but only if Ukraine continues with the path of reform. “So long as Ukraine’s leaders keep faith with the project of reform, the United States will continue to stand with them,” said Vice President Biden.

Speaking on energy security, Biden said that it’s time to make energy security the next chapter in the European project of integration and market expansion, stressing that “we need to work across the Atlantic to deny Russia the ability to use resources as a political weapon against their neighbors.” He also admitted to having the hardest time explaining in Europe that the US government legally cannot supply liquefied natural gas to other countries, it is up to business to do it.

The Day asked its experts to comment on the US vice president’s speech.

“THE WEST REALIZED THAT IT IS THE MATTER OF NOT ONLY UKRAINE, BUT OF RUSSIA THREATENING THE CIVILIZED WORLD”

Volodymyr OHRYZKO, former foreign minister of Ukraine, Kyiv:

“This is a program speech, which outlines the US administration’s main approaches towards the developments in Ukraine, but not only there. The West (including the US) has realized that it is the matter of not only Ukraine, but of Russia threatening the civilized world. So, these theses are really important in terms of confirming the course of the US and the West in general, with certain nuances, to the effect that the Russian Federation’s policy towards the West is unacceptable. If the conflict of 2008 in Georgia failed to cause the West to revise its policy towards Russia (everyone being euphoric about the allegedly democratic Russia), Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, and the war in Donbas have testified that the West was bitterly delusional. That is why it is extremely important that Biden confirmed the principal ideas that such policy should be brought to an end, and its initiators should be punished.

“On the other hand, I have certain doubts about the hope for a new common sense in Putin’s regime. There is no way the regime will change only because someone in the Kremlin will reconsider the situation. It is a systemic problem which needs to be approached from other premises. Namely, from the point of influencing the Russian factor in such a way that it either undergoes a real inner change, or this factor should be neutralized to eliminate the danger for all others. No one is going to destroy Russia. It is very good that the global leaders have realized that such a Russia cannot be part of the civilized world. In this respect, Merkel’s words that ‘a return to the G8 format is not imaginable’ are very telling.”

How would you comment on Joe Biden’s words “So long as Ukraine’s leaders keep faith with the project of reform, the United States will continue to stand with them”?

“This thesis has been repeated multiple times, and not only by Americans, but also by Europeans. The most recent example is the Riga Summit: if Ukraine implements reforms, it will get assistance, if not, then no. The thesis is just and adequate, we only have to wait and see adequate response on our part.”

US vice president delivers his speech on the eve of G7 in Germany, which suggests a logical question: isn’t it time the leaders of seven most developed nations declared new sanctions against Russia, which violates the Minsk accords? What do you think about Ukraine’s expectations of this summit?

“In my opinion, G7’s main and most important message would be practical assistance in the form of additional funding. Ukraine’s economy has reached perhaps the lowest point in its entire history after regaining independence. Meanwhile, the stabilization of the situation does not require colossal amounts of money. Should G7 come up with a political decision on a real Marshall plan for Ukraine, which would be (a) long-term, (b) financially supported, and (c) aimed at countering Russia’s economic expansion against Ukraine and the West, it would be an extremely powerful and important step towards helping Ukraine. We are capable of adequate action, but there also must be a powerful message urging Ukraine’s government to at last straighten their own mess out, in particular, their galloping corruption, which is not defeated in any way.”

“AMERICA REMAINS OUR RELIABLE PARTNER”

Dmytro KULEBA, special envoy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:

“Vice President Biden’s speech is very powerful and truly goal-setting. It demolishes the myth, disseminated by certain experts and media, that the US and Russia have made a backstage deal behind Ukraine’s back. America remains our reliable partner, because it realizes that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an assault not just on one independent nation, but on the entire system of international security.

“I am convinced that the vice president’s opinion about the connection of reform in Ukraine and the US support are totally shared in Ukraine both in high offices and on the street. Reforms are a guarantee of Ukraine’s success, and we are grateful to our partners for support in their implementation.

“Speaking of the coming G7 Summit, we expect the members’ unanimous stand on the defense of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence, a discussion of concrete ways of rendering assistance to Ukraine, and ensuring that the Minsk accords be respected.”