Biden tells Ukraine's Poroshenko U.S. to give $335 million in security aid

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) jokes that UkraineÕs President Petro Poroshenko (R) is buying lunch, before sitting down to their bilateral meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday that the United States was moving forward with an additional $335 million in security assistance, the White House said in a statement.

Biden, who met with Poroshenko on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit, also told the Ukrainian leader that efforts by Kiev to form a reform-oriented government were critical to unlocking international economic assistance, including a third $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee, the statement said.