Joe Biden

The Vice President of the United States has arrived in Bucharest on Tuesday, May 20, for a two-day visit. The American official has arrived in Romania together with his wife Jill Biden.

Shale gas and military expenditures, alongside the Ukraine crisis, were the main issues in meetings of US Vice President Joe Biden with Romanian leaders.

"We discussed shale gas [with Vice President Biden]. It is quite clear that the US is encouraging such exploitation," AGERPRES agency quoted Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta as saying.

Nikos Chrysoloras & Georgios Georgiou

Vice President Joe Biden will become on Wednesday the most senior U.S. official in more than half a century to visit Cyprus as the search for alternative gas-supply routes into Europe draws international attention to the divided island.

US Vice-President Joe Biden on Tuesday arrived in Romania to reassure leaders of America’s continuing commitment in the face of Russia’s growing military assertiveness.

“It’s an obligation for us to stay close to you so, in the name of the US President, I should say, you can count on us,” Biden said shortly after he arrived in Bucharest.

Police in Cyprus on Tuesday had to evacuate the island's main airport in Larnaca on the southern coast after receiving an anonymous call that there was a "suspicious package" on the premises, the Associated Press reported, quoting Communications Minister Marios Demetriades as saying.

US Vice President Joe Biden is expected to arrive on the divided island of Cyprus on Wednesday, where he will meet with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and other representatives of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities to discuss the progress of peace talks.

Josipovic promoted Croatia’s energy independence policy among influential circles and think tanks during a week-long visit to Washington.

US Vice-President Joe Biden is to visit Bucharest for talks with Romanian leaders on the volatile situation in Ukraine, among other matters.

President Traian Basescu on Monday said he had invited Biden to Romania, but declined to specify the timing of the visit.

Russia will respond if its interests in Ukraine are attacked, the country's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

US Vice-President Joe Biden is due to hold talks with the Ukrainian leadership on Tuesday.

Biden is to meet the country's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and interim President Oleksandr Turchynov.

He is also expected to announce that the US will provide economic and energy-related assistance to the government.