White House on Biden’s Travel to Ukraine

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
Washington. D.C.
April 20, 2014

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN TRAVELS TO UKRAINE

This evening, the Vice President will depart for Kyiv, Ukraine, for meetings with government leaders and members of civil society. While in Kyiv, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Rada Speaker and Acting President Oleksander Turchynov, and key legislators representing different political parties and regions within the Rada to discuss the international community’s efforts to help stabilize and strengthen Ukraine’s economy and to assist Ukraine in moving forward on constitutional reform, decentralization, anti-corruption efforts, and free and fair presidential elections on May 25th. In these meetings, the Vice President will also consult on the latest developments in eastern Ukraine and on steps to enhance Ukraine’s short- and long-term energy security. Later, the Vice President will meet with Ukrainian civil society leaders to discuss the key role nongovernmental organizations play in strengthening Ukraine’s democratic institutions.

Please note all times are approximate and are subject to change.

Monday, April 21st – Kyiv, Ukraine

The Vice President’s arrival in Kyiv at Boryspil International Airport at 3:15 PM LOCAL TIME/8:15 AM ET is open press.

Afterwards, the Vice President will meet with U.S. Embassy staff and families in Kyiv. This event is closed press.

Tuesday, April 22nd – Kyiv, Ukraine

In the morning, the Vice President will meet with Rada Speaker and Acting President Oleksander Turchynov at the Rada. This meeting will be followed by a meeting with Ukrainian legislators from the Rada. There will be a pool spray at the top of this meeting.

Later in the morning, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the Cabinet of Ministers Club. There will be a pool spray at the top of this meeting. A restricted bilateral meeting will follow between the Vice President and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk. This meeting is closed press.

Following their meetings, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and the Vice President will deliver statements to the press. These statements will be open press.

In the afternoon, the Vice President will meet with a group of civil society leaders at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. The Vice President’s remarks at the top of the meeting will be pooled press.

Afterwards, the Vice President will depart Kyiv, Ukraine, en route Washington, DC.

Russians censor Crimean Tatar TV

Euromaidan PR

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev (file photo) Management at the Crimean Tatar television broadcasting company Krym received verbal instructions to avoid “showing” the leader of the Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev and several members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (executive-representative body), a source at the company confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda.

According to the source, the new “powers” in Crimea decided to impose sanctions against the leader of the Crimean Tatars and to introduce censorship regarding coverage of the activities of the Mejlis.

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Interview with Jabhat al-Akrad Commander

The Rojava Report

Three Fighters at Jabhat al-Akrad Headquarters Three Fighters at Jabhat al-Akrad Headquarters

(ANF/AZAZ) Jabhat al-Akrad – or “Kurdish Front” as it is sometimes known – was founded as a part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in 2013 and is composed largely of Kurds living in Kurdish-areas outside of Aleppo but has fighters of many different backgrounds. In a new interview for ANF, Bahoz Deniz has spoken with the commander of the Jabhat al-Akrad, Heci Ehmet El Kurdi, about the beginnings of the organization, its mission, and the state of the conflict in Syria more generally. Below is a translation of that interview into English.

`We Joined The Revolution In Our Own Name`

Jabhat El-Akrad is a project for a ‘Democratic Syria.’ We are not like the YPG (People’s Defense Units) which is the national defense force of the Rojava Kurdistan and carries out activities in Rojava. We on the other hand carry out our activities…

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New reality in Crimea. Life on the peninsula under the wing of ‘brotherly’ Russia.

Euromaidan PR

Two weeks with the ‘new government’. What does it feel like to live in Crimea now?

Pensions, salaries and social benefits
During the so-called pro-Russian campaign for Crimea to join Russia two or three folded increase of salaries, scholarships and other social benefits had been promised by the pro-Russian activists. The joy quickly disappeared once the Crimean pensioners received their first pensions at the end of March. Russia simply multiplied their Ukrainian pensions by the coefficient of 3.8 and paid it in Russian rubles. The Russian authorities in Crimea are not in a hurry to increase the payments to the retired. At the moment they are just promising to dole out some additional benefits.

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