US to step up pressure over Russia 'aggression': Biden

US Vice President Joe Biden has assured Ukrainian lawmakers that the United States will only step up pressure on Moscow if “Russian aggression” continues.

"If Russian aggression persists, the cost imposed on Moscow will continue to rise," Biden said Tuesday in a rare address to the Ukrainian Parliament on the second day of his visit to Kiev.

"The US will maintain pressure until Moscow fulfills its Minsk commitments," he said.

The vice president also warned that there will be “no sanctions relief” if Russia does not fully implement the terms of the truce agreement signed in the Belarusian capital in February.

The deal introduced measures including a ceasefire, which officially went into effect on February 15, the pullout of heavy weapons from the conflict zones, and constitutional reforms in Ukraine by the end of the year.

US and European officials say Russia, and pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine, continue to violate the Minsk accord.

Biden’s address before the Ukrainian Parliament, the first of its kind by a high-ranking US official since 1991, flew in the face of Russia's assertion that it is the pro-Western government in Kiev that flouts the peace accord.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine broke out last year following a referendum in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in which people voted overwhelmingly for reunification with Russia. More than 8,000 people have died in the conflict.

“Russia has violated these ground rules and continues to violate them,” Biden told Ukrainian lawmakers. “Today, Russia’s occupying sovereign Ukrainian territory. Let me be crystal clear: The United States does not, has not, never will recognize Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea.”

Washington has imposed tough economic sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and helped train and equip Ukraine’s army to combat pro-Russia forces in eastern regions of the country.

In his address, Biden also urged Ukrainian lawmakers to put aside their self-interests and work to transform their country into a model of democratic change.

On Monday, the vice president announced $190 million in new US aid to Ukraine. He said the new aid package will help Ukraine implement reforms and fight “the cancer of corruption.”

Biden’s visit and his tough message for Moscow threaten to complicate increased US efforts to work with Russia to resolve the Syrian conflict and fight the Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.

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