VILNIUS, Lithuania, March 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden assured the presidents of Latvia and Lithuania that Russia is vulnerable to economic sanctions during a meeting Wednesday.
Biden had separate meetings with President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania and Latvian President Andris Berzins in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The three then had a working lunch.
"We stand resolutely with our Baltic allies in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russian aggression," Biden said. "As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation."
Russia has to deal with a changing and increasingly globalized world, Biden said.
"Global markets and the international community will and should bet in the long run on countries that reject aggression and corruption, embrace openness and live up to their obligations," he said. "Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania understand this well."
Grybauskaite spoke of the need to guarantee energy supplies for the Baltic states in a region where Russia is a major supplier of oil and natural gas.
