Biden Pushed for Tougher Action on Russian in East Europe
By Margaret Talev Mar 19, 2014 8:56 AM ET
Two Baltic leaders echoed calls from Poland and Estonia for a more aggressive U.S. stance toward Russia, as Vice President Joe Biden wrapped up a two-day trip to countries on the front line of Ukrainian turmoil.
Biden met today in Lithuania with Latvian President Andris Berzins and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite during a visit aimed at assuring North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies that the U.S. will support them against any attempt by Russia to encroach on their territory. Biden returns to Washington later today.
“I see it as a threat not only to Ukraine but also to the entire international community” that can ’’undermine postwar architecture,’’ Grybauskaite told reporters today in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
She said she told Biden Russian actions in Crimea are a “direct threat” to the region.
“There are those who say that this action shows the old rules still apply,” Biden said. “But Russia cannot escape the fact that the world is changing and rejecting outright their behavior.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-18/biden-pushed-for-tougher-action-on-russian-in-east-europe.html