Leave it to Biden.

(CNN) – Russia’s “gay propaganda” law that makes it illegal to tell children about gay rights is linked to the nation’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea, Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday night.

Speaking at a gala in Los Angeles for the gay rights group Human Rights Council, Biden suggested countries that don’t respect the rights of gays, lesbians and transgender people also disregard borders.

“As the great Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov said, ‘A country that does not respect the rights of its citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors,’ and we’re seeing that today, we’re seeing that today in Ukraine,” the vice president said.