Biden praise Pence's knowledge of Russia, gives tips on Ukraine:
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has praised the man who will replace him, saying Vice President-elect Mike Pence knows more about Russia than his running mate, Donald Trump.
In interviews with White House reporters on January 12, Biden said he had been impressed with Pence and thinks his views of Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, are well informed.
"I never know what [Trump] means" when he talks about Russia, Biden said. "But I do think that Mike is significantly more informed about Russian conduct, potential intentions, and Putin's behavior than...the president-elect is, based on what the president-elect says."
Biden has been the Obama administration's top envoy on many occasions and has played a particularly critical role in developing relations with Ukraine and Iraq. He plans to make a last visit to Ukraine on January 15.
The vice president said he "likes" Pence and had been sending him memos with his advice on how to handle relationships with Iraqi and Ukrainian leaders.
He said he had also identified for Pence "the things that could explode most easily" in the world in coming years.
Biden said Pence had been receptive to his advice. (AP, Reuters)
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Thursday, January 12, 2017. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage. Thanks for reading and take care.
Trump's National Security Picks Back Tough Approach To Russia
WASHINGTON -- Two leading national security picks for Donald Trump’s incoming administration warned that Russia is seeking to disrupt U.S. and European institutions and advocated an aggressive military and intelligence approach to counter Moscow.
The comments by James Mattis and Mike Pompeo, Trump’s picks to run the Pentagon and the CIA, respectively, contrast with the more conciliatory rhetoric toward Moscow that the Republican president-elect voiced throughout his campaign and after his election on November 8.
The two nominees spoke at separate Senate confirmation hearings on January 12, with both characterizing Russia as an aggressive actor that must be met with staunch U.S. resistance on the international stage.
Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to break up the NATO alliance and that Washington must confront Russian behavior.
Citing his recent visit to the three Baltic states -- NATO members that were under Moscow’s domain during Soviet times -- Senator John McCain (Republican-Arizona) said during the hearing that leaders there had pressed him to back a permanent U.S. military presence in the region.
A U.S. rotating force began deploying in Eastern Europe in January under a program known as the European Reassurance Initiative launched in conjunction with NATO’s response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
Asked by McCain whether Mattis supports a permanent U.S. military presence in the three countries -- Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia -- the retired general said he does.