Biden stressed that attempts to improve relations between the US and Russia will not come at the expense of Ukraine.

After leaving Ukraine, the Vice President will head for another post-Soviet state looking for integration into the West – Georgia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Nesterenko said Moscow expects the US contacts with Georgia and Ukraine will be transparent and will not involve “backdoor games”.

“The choice of partners for international cooperation is the sovereign right of countries forming those relationships themselves. The main thing is that such dealings should be transparent, without any backstage politics. And they should not harm the interests of others. We need to take into account the regional context of relations, social and historical features, as well as existing cultural traditions,” he said.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has poured cold water on Ukrainian and Georgian prospects for membership of the military alliance, saying both countries are “not ready”.

And he stressed that the situation was unlikely to change in the near future. NATO’s top official also indicated that political instability is a concern in both countries.

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