Ukraine’s prime minister said his government is committed to fighting corruption and will press ahead with economic reforms despite internal pressure to ease up on the reform agenda.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk made the comments during an interview with CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife Tuesday in Ottawa, after he joined Prime Minister Stephen Harper in announcing that a deal had been reached for a Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement.
Yatsenyuk admitted there is corruption in Ukraine, but said his government is working to root it out.
“We had a number of tycoons who acted like vampires sucking the blood out of Ukrainian financial resources and energy companies,” he said.
“We arrested (a minister) and his first deputy during a meeting of the cabinet. We arrested a number of judges. We arrested a number of high-profile prosecutors,” he added.
Ukraine’s economy barely grew in 2012 and 2013. After Russia annexed Crimea and fighting ramped up in the eastern part of the country in 2014, economic uncertainty pushed the country into recession. Ukraine’s GDP declined 6.8 per cent in 2014 and is on track to fall another 7.5 per cent in 2015, according to the World Bank.
“We need to boost our economy,” Yatsenyuk said. “We need to get investment and to get financial support.”
Yatsenyuk pointed out that the country had been promised $17.5 billion in loans from the IMF and $7.5 billion from other nations, while much-smaller Greece received “a $300-billion bailout and asked for another $80 billion.”
More money from international creditors might not be on the table, however, if the country goes ahead with a bill that would water down some of the reforms it promised when it got that $17.5-billion commitment in March.
Ukraine agreed at the time to rein in energy subsidies, pensions, public sector employment and state-owned enterprises.
On Monday, the White House issued a statement that said Ukraine must take a “strong stand against populist measures that could undermine Ukraine's financial stability."
Yatsenyuk said in his interview with CTV News that his government, “will never allow anyone to pull back from our reform agenda.” He blamed the contentious bill on “politicians (going) crazy before elections.”
Yatsenyuk said that President Petro Poroshenko would veto the bill if it succeeds in parliament.
Will Canada supply weapons?
Yatsenyuk was also asked about whether Harper appeared willing to provide weaponry to Ukraine, on top of the military training and other support already committed to the fight against Russian-backed militants.
“We will appreciate (it) if Canadian government will do more, but they are doing enough,” he said.
“The problem is that … this has to be one united decision of the U.S., the EU, Canada and G7 member states.”
Yatsenyuk stressed that Ukraine is only asking for “defensive weapons.”
“We need to protect our country,” he said.
Asked whether Harper is open to the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine, Yatsenyuk said: “The prime minister is open to do everything he can to support the Ukrainian people.”
Yatsenyuk also lauded Canada for providing Ukraine with high-resolution satellite images that show the movements of Russian troops around and within Ukraine’s borders.
“We have, I would say, brilliant co-operation with the Canadian government and I truly commend and appreciate the support of Canadian people and the Canadian government in our fight against the Russian-led aggression,” he said.
