Joe Biden Wants to Make Ukraine a "Foreign Policy Priority"

Joe Biden, the former vice president of the United States and Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, said he would make Ukraine a foreign policy priority if elected.

This was Biden's response to a questionnaire sent by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) to all Democratic candidates regarding their positions on major foreign policy issues.

One of the CFR’s questions was about Ukraine and read as follows: “What, if any, steps would you take to counter Russian aggression against Ukraine?”.

“First, I would make Ukraine a U.S. foreign policy priority. On the military side, I would provide more U.S. security assistance — including weapons — to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself. I would also expand the successful training mission for the Ukrainian Armed Forces that was initiated by the Obama-Biden administration,” Joe Biden answered.

“Economically, I would work to increase Western direct investment and support for Ukraine’s energy independence from Russia, particularly if the Nord Stream II pipeline is built in the coming year, because this project would severely jeopardize Ukraine’s access to Russian gas,” he added.

Biden stated as well that “all U.S. assistance to Ukraine is strictly conditioned on anti-corruption reforms”.

Finally, Biden claimed he would support a much stronger diplomatic role for the U.S. in the negotiations with Russia, alongside France and Germany.

11 other Democratic presidential candidates of the 24 have also replied to the questionnaire.

/By Vladyslav Kudryk