Biden urges ruling coalition to restore unity of Ukraine
US Vice President Joe Biden has called on the ruling coalition in Ukraine to quickly restore unity in the country so the government can move forward with reforms. These reforms are in accordance with Ukraine’s obligations under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. Biden stated this during a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
Biden and Poroshenko talked about the importance of achieving progress in security issues and political aspects of the Minsk Agreements. They expressed serious concern about the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine. They also discussed the political situation in Ukraine, with both agreeing that it is extremely important to continue taking measures with regard to the eradication of corruption and the implementation of reforms.
President Poroshenko had previously assured the IMF that he remains committed to the idea of economic reforms and eradicating corruption in Ukraine. After receiving a sharp warning from the IMF that Ukraine might not receive a 1.75 billion dollar loan, Poroshenko had telephone conversation with the IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, in which he promised to develop a “roadmap” aimed at supporting reforms.
Lagarde strongly warned that “without significant new attempts to revive the reforms in administration and the fight against corruption, it is difficult to understand how the IMF program can be successful.” This warning came after the resignation of the Minister of the Economy of Ukraine, Aivaras Abromavičius, last week. Abromavičius had accused the ruling coalition of corruption.
Ukraine has been hoping to receive the third tranche of the IMF loan in the amount of 1.7 billion dollars since October last year. However, this was postponed due to political squabbles and defective reforms in the country.