BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Russia must be punished if it seeks to derail Ukraine’s presidential election this weekend, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
Speaking during a tour of Eastern European nations, Biden urged European allies to use their influence and “promote a stable and positive environment” so Ukrainians can vote unhindered on Sunday.
“If Russia undermines these elections … we must remain resolute and impose greater costs to Russia and (be) equally resolute to invest in the NATO alliance,” Biden said after talks with Romanian President Traian Basescu.
The U.S. and the EU have imposed travel bans and asset freezes on President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and have threatened to target entire sectors of the Russian economy if Russia tries to grab more land from Ukraine.
Biden urged Romania to develop its natural gas resources, which analysts say could be exported it to other countries in the region, including neighboring Moldova, which is 100 percent dependent on Russian gas.
Romania imports about one-fifth of its natural gas from Russia and has its own supplies in the northwest Transylvania region.
“We need to ensure that Russia can no longer use its energy resources as a weapon against anyone in the region,” Biden said. “The development of a secure, diverse and inter-connected energy market is the next great step for our European colleagues.”
He sought to reassure Romania that it would be protected by NATO if it were attacked.
“NATO nations never stand alone, we protect one another,” he said.
Biden said an U.S. anti-missile shield at Romania’s Deveselu site was on track to become operational in 2015 and praised Bucharest’s plans to increase defense spending to two percent of GDP by 2016, up from about 1.5 percent.
The U.S. has said the missile interceptors could be launched from Romania in case of a missile attack from the Middle East.
Russia and China today signed a thirty year “Holy Grail” $400 billion dollar gas deal to be transacted in their domestic currencies bypassing the (petro) dollar.
In March export powerhouses China and Germany signed a trade deal bypassing the USDollar with a new clearinghouse in Frankfurt.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/29/germany-china-idUSL5N0MQ0MP20140329
The world is tired of U.S. militarism, exceptionalism and “color revolutions”.
The BRICS countries are leading the charge “sanctioning” the U.S. by moving away from the USdollar to conduct trade and pay account balances.
When the USDollar is ultimately dislodged as global reserve currency the U.S. will soon fall to third world status.
Project much, there, Joey? You moron! In case you’ve forgotten, the US of A has been overtly active in arming and advising the coup leaders in the Ukraine on how to forcibly achieve an outcome that it could not achieve via free and open elections and how to use a military to suppress voter turnout. The problem is, Big Joe, that all those Eastern European nations who you are spurring to jump on the Keystone Kops paddy wagon the US fo A offers are totally dependent on Russian largesse for their ability to keep warm during their brutal winters.
If Mr. Putin wanted to get REALLY ugly in this entire Kabuki Theater that you and Barack have put together, he would simply sell Russia’s natural gas to China, North Korea and all the Southeast Asian countries needing fossil fuels for heating and/or manufacturing. (See, the comment above) That would make for some miserably cold winters in Eastern Europe.
Not that you care! You would just jump on your fossil fuel powered and heated jet and wing back home to your fossil fueled house. Once again, you have engaged your mouth before you fired up those 2 brain cells that you have so that you can make the same irresponsible statements that are the hallmark of your career in public life.