NBC 5: On the Ground in Ukraine

The following interview originally aired on NBC 5 on April 22, 2014. A transcript and video of the interview are below. If you have difficulty viewing the video, click here.

NBC5 Host Rob Stafford: Vice President Joe Biden met Ukraine's acting President in Kiev today, and after the meeting he called on Russia to pull back the forces at the Ukrainian border and to stop provoking unrest. He is the highest ranking US official to visit Ukraine since the crisis with Russia began a few months ago. Congressman Mike Quigley said today that sanctions against Russia are beginning to work in Ukraine.

Host Allison Rosati: And he is part of the delegation headed by the Vice President that landed in Kiev yesterday. NBC5 Political Editor Carol Marin joins us now. She spoke with Congressman Quigley today. Carol?

Carol Marin: I did Allison and Rob. The Congressman talked to NBC5 from Maidan Square, the site of the independence rallies earlier this year.

Representative Mike Quigley: Obviously it's a very dangerous situation, where a certain type of provocation could start a major war.

Marin: The Congressman is visiting a country that is in chaos.

Rep. Quigley: The past President left a broken economy, completely and totally corrupt.

Marin: There's fear, he said, but also some hopefulness.

Rep. Quigley: If you walk through the streets here, and other cities, you know, this is their turning point.

Marin: Maidan Square, he said, is peaceful now, but the remnants of a revolution remain. Tensions are taut, with Russian soldiers at the border, and pro-Russian separatists occupying government buildings in eastern Ukraine. Vice President Biden said today it's time for Russia to back its commitment to peace.

Vice President Joe Biden: [video recording] These are commitments made. They should be fulfilled. We need to see these kinds of concrete steps. We need to see them without delay.

Marin: According to Quigley, 89% of Ukrainians want a united country, but he acknowledged there are no simple solutions. So you come back to the United States and you go to the White House and you tell the President what in terms of what you think the US should be doing?

Rep. Quigley: Look, I think they stay the course.

Marin: While upping the economic sanctions, he argues, against Russia.

Rep. Quigley: I think the sanctions are starting to work. The ruble's at an all-time low, their stock market has lost about 20% of the value.

Marin: In Congressman Quigley's District, there is a sizeable percentage of Ukrainian-Americans, but, he points out, there are also a sizeable amount of Polish-Americans, who note with great concern that they are seeing themselves and their mother country in the same context as having lived a long time under the threat of Russian influence, and so a great deal of attention here in Chicago pointed in that region Allison and Rob.

Stafford: Really complicated situation. Thanks Carol.