Biden, Tusk condemn Crimea annexation
22:49
US Vice-President Joe Biden has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to sign a treaty which will see the autonomous state become part of the Russian Federation.
The treaty is not accepted by Kiev, and the US has called a meeting of the G7-EU in The Hague next week, the BBC reports.
Speaking in Warsaw with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Biden said that “we stand shoulder to shoulder with Poland and the international community in condemning the assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
The US Vice-President added that Russia’s move to annex Crimea was “nothing more than a land grab.”
Prime Minister Tusk said that “Poles and Americans are aware that the history of the region is changing before our very eyes, and that this change has a global context and dimension.”
Poland’s PM added that the annexation of Crimea will heighten the security risk in Central and Eastern Europe.
Biden is in Warsaw for talks with the Polish government, and is also expected to visit Vilnius to continue his flash visit in the region following a so-called referendum in Crimea in which almost 97 percent of voters decided to join Russia.
