Anticipating a “man-to-man talk”
This Monday Ukraine played host to US Vice President Joe Biden. It is the first visit of an American official of such rank after the Democrats came to power and the Afro-American Barack Obama became President. Obama is known to have been assigning Biden missions he couldn’t possibly accomplish himself, owing to tight schedule. This year Joe Biden has been made welcome in Albania and Kosovo — in the latter case owing to the US effort aimed at securing its national independence. The Vice President spent 4th July in Iraq.
Last Friday, Washington made it clear that Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine and Georgia would not be a polite gesture, but would mark an important phase in US foreign policy. Biden’s national security advisor Tony Blinken said during a telephone conference that this visit is aimed at assuring America’s both allies that the Obama administration hasn’t thrown them to the wolves while trying not to put too much strain on relations with Russia.
He went on to say that America will not strain its relations with Russia at the expense of any other country, stressing that any further support of Ukraine and Georgia is not a carte blanche, and that Biden will insist on economic and democratic reforms in these countries.
