Readout of the Vice President's Call with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

Vice President Joe Biden spoke today with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko about the Malaysia Airlines disaster and the situation in eastern Ukraine. The two leaders discussed the need for a prompt international investigation with unimpeded access to the crash site. They also agreed that as the party responsible for arming the separatists, Russia needed to publicly call on the separatists to lay down their weapons and grant immediate access to international and Ukrainian investigators. The Vice President also stressed Russia's obligations to support a mutual ceasefire, a roadmap for peace talks, release of hostages, an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) border monitoring mission, and most importantly, to halt the flow of heavy weapons — including anti-aircraft systems and other equipment — across the border.