U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden delivered a speech in Kyiv on Dec. 8, addressing President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and lawmakers in Ukraine’s parliament.
The Kyiv Post is highlighting some key passages of the address, which can be read in full at the White House website here.
On corruption:
“You cannot name me a single democracy in the world where the cancer of corruption is prevalent. (…) And it’s not enough to set up a new anti-corruption bureau and establish a special prosecutor fighting corruption. The Office of the General Prosecutor desperately needs reform. The judiciary should be overhauled. The energy sector needs to be competitive, ruled by market principles – not sweetheart deals.
“Corruption siphons away resources from the people. It blunts economic growth, and it affronts human dignity. We know that. You know that. The Ukrainian people know that. When Russia seeks to use corruption as a tool of coercion, reform isn’t just good governance, it’s self-preservation. It’s in the national security interest of the nation.”
On Russia:
“Russia is trying to undermine the stability and sovereignty of Ukraine any way they can, including squeezing Ukraine financially, trying to undermine your economy. They view that as a cheaper way than sending tanks across the line of contact.
“Truly free and fair elections are exactly what the Kremlin fears the most. It’s not just your territory they covet; it’s your success that they fear. For if free elections occur, and the people determine, as I am confident they will, that they want to remain and integral part of Ukraine, that they are Ukrainians first, that’s what Russia fears. That’s what Putin fears.”
On Ukraine’s fate:
“Ukraine’s moment. It may be your last moment. Please for the sake of the rest of us, selfishly on my part, don’t waste it. Seize the opportunity. Build a better future for the people of Ukraine. Oligarchs and non-oligarchs must play by the same rules. They have to pay their taxes, settle their disputes in court – not by bullying judges. That’s basic. That’s how nations succeed in the 21st century.”
On Crimea
“In the 21st century, nations cannot – and we cannot allow them – to redraw borders by force. These are the ground rules. And if we fail to uphold them, we will rue the day. Russia has violated these ground rules and continues to violate them. Today Russia is occupying sovereign Ukrainian territory. Let me be crystal clear: The United States does not, will not, never will recognize Russia’s attempt to annex the Crimea. It’s … that simple. There is no justification.”
