US Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at the Munich Security Forum today, said that good relations between Moscow and Washington are required today more than the "reset" launched six years ago in the same international arena.
According to him, today we must once again reaffirm the principles of a Europe without spheres of influence and the inviolability of borders. "Europe is the cornerstone of US activities around the world," the vice-president of the United States said.
Further, Biden accused Russia of undermining Ukrainian sovereignty, using corruption as a tool of foreign policy, and using energy as a method of coercion. Meanwhile, according to the US politician, Russia has failed to achieve its goals in Ukraine: to prevent free elections, divide it into western and eastern parts, as well as to prevent the signing of the Kiev association agreement with the EU.
According to the vice-president of the United States, the West does not intend to cause the collapse of the Russian economy, but Putin must understand that his actions in Ukraine will hit the Russian economy. The politician reminded about the positive experience of cooperation between the West and Russia in 2012 on North Korea and Iran.
Further, Biden touched upon the issue of the energy security of Europe. Our greatest interest is to ensure Europe's energy independence, he said.
In addition, the White House senior spoke of the need to increase military spending by NATO member states. "I never thought that in 2015 we would have to think about strengthening the combat capability of NATO forces in Europe," he said.
