Readout of the Vice President’s Call with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Vice President Joe Biden spoke today with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk regarding the situation in eastern Ukraine, additional U.S. financial assistance for Ukraine, and efforts to promote the Minsk peace process. The Vice President expressed his condolences for the civilians killed in the bombing of a passenger bus today in Donetsk Oblast, and expressed his regret at the increasing number of ceasefire violations by Russia’s proxies. The Vice President and Prime Minister also discussed progress in assembling a broad package of international financing that will support Ukraine as it takes steps to restore economic stability and unleash its economic potential. The Vice President informed the Prime Minister of the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement regarding loan guarantees for Ukraine as part of this international package. Finally, the two leaders discussed the recent meeting of Ukrainian, Russian, French and German Foreign Ministers in Berlin, and agreed on the importance of having Russia abide by the commitments it made in the Minsk agreements, which include OSCE monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border, the return of hostages, and the withdrawal of arms and foreign fighters from Ukraine.