"If the Ukrainians give a handle." Biden warned Poroshenko about the possible abolition of the anti-Russian sanctions

US Vice President Joe Biden urged President Petro Poroshenko to carry out political and economic reforms actively, otherwise, there is a risk that some of the EU countries will lift the sanctions against the Russian Federation. Biden said that on Wednesday in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, - reports Ukrainska Pravda with the reference to Reuters.

"We know that if they (Ukrainians) give a handle to the EU, there are at least five countries that can now say:" We want to "get out" of sanctions against Moscow," - said Biden.

US Vice-President said that since the beginning of the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, he talks every week for two or three hours on the phone with the Ukrainian leadership, urging to carry out reforms and "pushes" the idea not to lift sanctions in Germany, France, and Italy.

Also, according to Biden, on the background of the crisis in Europe, which is caused by migrants and Brexit, he warned Poroshenko of the need to fulfill  the Minsk agreements to avoid accusations of their failure.