Thursday, July 2, 2015

'Veep Talk': Vice President Biden Speaks with Prime Ministers Al-Abadi and Yatsenyuk

 

Vice President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi today to discuss ongoing efforts to defeat ISIL in Iraq. The Vice President reaffirmed full U.S. support for the Iraqi Government’s ongoing efforts to counter ISIL, including the mobilization of local tribal fighters. The Vice President applauded recent battlefield successes by those fighters and the contributions of U.S. military advisors in that effort. The Vice President and Prime Minister discussed the importance of having all Iraqi communities continuing to work together to fight ISIL.

NOTE: The following was added on Jul 2 at 6:20 p.m.

The Vice President also spoke with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The two leaders discussed Ukraine’s reform agenda and the U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum on July 13th in Washington, DC. The Vice President welcomed the advancement of the constitutional reform process in Ukraine as a means to bring about meaningful decentralization of power in keeping with the Minsk agreements. The Vice President and Prime Minister also discussed the situation in the east and deeply regretted the numerous civilian casualties that have resulted from the continued shelling of the coastal city of Shyrokine by combined Russian-separatist forces. In that regard, the two leaders welcomed the renewal of European Union sanctions on Russia until January 31, 2016 to impose costs for Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and ensure its full compliance with the terms of the Minsk agreements. The Vice President also strongly condemned the announcement by separatist leaders of plans to hold elections on October 18th in direct contravention of the Minsk agreements and Ukrainian law.

Source: The White House Press Office

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