Readout of Vice President Biden’s Meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas

Vice President Joe Biden met today with Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas in the White House. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations, the crisis in Ukraine, NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, energy security, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP).  The Vice President thanked Estonia for its contributions to international security, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two leaders discussed the implementation of NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, and the Vice President welcomed the agreement between Estonia and Finland to build the infrastructure to diversify the supply of natural gas to the region. The Vice President and Prime Minister Roivas agreed on the strategic importance of T-TIP to support jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Finally, on Ukraine, the two leaders agreed on the importance of providing additional financial support to Ukraine to ensure that the new government can maintain economic stability as it implements needed reforms, and on the importance of continuing to impose costs on Russia for its continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including its arming of Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine and wilful violation of Ukraine’s international border.