Vice President Biden spoke to President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine today to discuss next steps in the implementation of the Minsk agreements following the October 19 Normandy Group meetings in Berlin. The leaders emphasized the importance of de-escalation and the need to continue disengaging forces along the line of contact in the Donbas. The leaders underscored that international sanctions on Russia must remain in place until Minsk is fully implemented. The leaders also discussed a range of economic and bilateral issues and agreed on the importance of continuing to implement ‎the reform agenda.