ID :
71186
Mon, 07/20/2009 - 17:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/71186
The shortlink copeid
Vice-President Biden sets out on a tour of Ukraine & Georgia
.
KIEV, July 20 (Itar-Tass) - The U.S. Vice-President will arrive in
Ukraine for a working visit at the invitation of Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko.
"This visit proves that Ukraine is a vital strategic partners of the
United States in the East European region," said the president's press
secretary Irina Vannikova.
"Biden's visit is important for developing a bilateral political
dialogue and the Ukrainian-American strategic partnership as well as for
implementing the agreements reached under the previous U.S.
administration," Vannikova went on to say.
Vannikova said that the first visit to Kiev by a top-ranking official
from the new U.S. administration would open up opportunities for concrete
steps in strengthening Ukraine's national security and bilateral
cooperation in various spheres such as energy and the U.S. support for
Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine was expecting Biden
to give "the final signal of U.S. support for Ukraine's course towards
NATO membership." The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is studying the
possibility of a meeting between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents this
autumn and a working visit to Kiev of the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton.
Biden will begin his visit with meeting the U.S. diplomats working in
Ukraine. Other details of the first day of his sojourn in Kiev are kept
secret.
Biden will meet Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Tuesday, July
21. The same day he is to meet Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, Parliament
Speaker Vladimir Litvin, the leader of the opposition Party of Regions
Viktor Yanukovich and Arseniy Yatsenyuk from the "Front of Change"
movement. All of them have announced their intention to run for president
on January 17, 2010.
Biden's National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said that the United
States didn't have favorites in the Ukrainian upcoming election and that
the Washington administration wanted these elections to be free and
honest. He also said that Ukraine should go ahead with economic and energy
reforms. At the same time, Blinken warned that at the moment Ukraine
shouldn't count on direct financial support from the United States.
On July 22, the visit's final day, Biden will meet Ukrainian
businessmen and leaders of several public organizations.
The U.S. Vice-President will leave for Tbilisi on Wednesday afternoon.
In Georgia, it will be President Mikhail Saakashvili, Parliament
Speaker David Bakradze and opposition leaders Irakly Alasaniya, Nino
Burdzhanadze and Levan Gachechiladze.
The purpose of Joseph Biden's visit to Ukraine and Georgia is to show
America's support for the democratic and economic reforms in these former
Soviet republics. The trip will last until Thursday.
According to Biden's National Security Adviser Tony Blinken, the
United States will continue denying the 'spheres of influence' concept and
will back up a principle that sovereign democracies have the right to
choose their own partners and allies.
He said that the 'resetting' of the U.S. relations with Russia wouldn'
t take place at the expense of any other country. This is what
Vice-President Biden spoke of in Munich. President Barack Obama stressed
the same during his visit to Moscow early in July.
Blinken said that the United States wanted to strengthen relations
with various countries, including Ukraine and Georgia, on the principle of
multiple partnership. Besides, both Ukraine and Georgia have seen
'colour' revolutions. However, each of the two countries is facing
challenges of how to live up to the promises given during those
revolutions. In Ukraine, it's ailing economy and energy problems while in
Georgia it's the construction of a democratic society.
Biden will also deliver speeches at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in
Kiev and in Georgian parliament in Tbilisi. Asked whether any of Biden's
speeches would have the same confrontational tone as the speeches of the
former Vice-President Dick Cheney, Tony Blinken said that Washington's
striving for multiple partnership was not directed against any other
country.
-0-fil/
KIEV, July 20 (Itar-Tass) - The U.S. Vice-President will arrive in
Ukraine for a working visit at the invitation of Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko.
"This visit proves that Ukraine is a vital strategic partners of the
United States in the East European region," said the president's press
secretary Irina Vannikova.
"Biden's visit is important for developing a bilateral political
dialogue and the Ukrainian-American strategic partnership as well as for
implementing the agreements reached under the previous U.S.
administration," Vannikova went on to say.
Vannikova said that the first visit to Kiev by a top-ranking official
from the new U.S. administration would open up opportunities for concrete
steps in strengthening Ukraine's national security and bilateral
cooperation in various spheres such as energy and the U.S. support for
Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine was expecting Biden
to give "the final signal of U.S. support for Ukraine's course towards
NATO membership." The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is studying the
possibility of a meeting between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents this
autumn and a working visit to Kiev of the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton.
Biden will begin his visit with meeting the U.S. diplomats working in
Ukraine. Other details of the first day of his sojourn in Kiev are kept
secret.
Biden will meet Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Tuesday, July
21. The same day he is to meet Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, Parliament
Speaker Vladimir Litvin, the leader of the opposition Party of Regions
Viktor Yanukovich and Arseniy Yatsenyuk from the "Front of Change"
movement. All of them have announced their intention to run for president
on January 17, 2010.
Biden's National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said that the United
States didn't have favorites in the Ukrainian upcoming election and that
the Washington administration wanted these elections to be free and
honest. He also said that Ukraine should go ahead with economic and energy
reforms. At the same time, Blinken warned that at the moment Ukraine
shouldn't count on direct financial support from the United States.
On July 22, the visit's final day, Biden will meet Ukrainian
businessmen and leaders of several public organizations.
The U.S. Vice-President will leave for Tbilisi on Wednesday afternoon.
In Georgia, it will be President Mikhail Saakashvili, Parliament
Speaker David Bakradze and opposition leaders Irakly Alasaniya, Nino
Burdzhanadze and Levan Gachechiladze.
The purpose of Joseph Biden's visit to Ukraine and Georgia is to show
America's support for the democratic and economic reforms in these former
Soviet republics. The trip will last until Thursday.
According to Biden's National Security Adviser Tony Blinken, the
United States will continue denying the 'spheres of influence' concept and
will back up a principle that sovereign democracies have the right to
choose their own partners and allies.
He said that the 'resetting' of the U.S. relations with Russia wouldn'
t take place at the expense of any other country. This is what
Vice-President Biden spoke of in Munich. President Barack Obama stressed
the same during his visit to Moscow early in July.
Blinken said that the United States wanted to strengthen relations
with various countries, including Ukraine and Georgia, on the principle of
multiple partnership. Besides, both Ukraine and Georgia have seen
'colour' revolutions. However, each of the two countries is facing
challenges of how to live up to the promises given during those
revolutions. In Ukraine, it's ailing economy and energy problems while in
Georgia it's the construction of a democratic society.
Biden will also deliver speeches at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in
Kiev and in Georgian parliament in Tbilisi. Asked whether any of Biden's
speeches would have the same confrontational tone as the speeches of the
former Vice-President Dick Cheney, Tony Blinken said that Washington's
striving for multiple partnership was not directed against any other
country.
-0-fil/
