Readout of Vice President Biden's Call with President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine

Vice President Joe Biden called President Petro Poroshenko today to commend him, the government of Ukraine, and the Central Bank for their decisive action to strengthen the country's banking sector and protect Ukrainian depositors through the nationalization of PrivatBank. The Vice President expressed strong support for President Poroshenko's leadership in reinforcing the financial stability of the country, and President Poroshenko reaffirmed his close cooperation with the International Monetary Fund as the nationalization process continues and Ukraine works to meet the remaining benchmarks under Ukraine's IMF program. The leaders expressed their grave concern about the latest surge in violence perpetrated by combined Russian/separatist forces in the Donbas, and expressed condolences for the recent loss of five Ukrainian soldiers near Svitlodarsk. The leaders reiterated their unwavering support for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.