VILNIUS, November 29. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich expects from the European partners “resolute steps to meet Ukraine in economic assistance issues.
“Recently, Ukraine has found itself alone with major financial and economic problems,” Yanukovich said at a plenary session of the Eastern Partnership summit, where Ukraine had delayed the signing of the association agreement with the EU referring to serious economic problems.
“That is why already now we expect from our European partners resolute steps to meet Ukraine halfway in the development and implementation of a program of financial-economic assistance with the use of all existing mechanisms and resources,” the Ukrainian president said.
Among the possible measures he mentioned “unblocking programs of EU budget sectoral support as well as “efficient support from international financial institutions”.
He said Ukraine was interested in restoring as soon as possible “efficient cooperation on acceptable terms” with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
He also urged the EU to revise trade restrictions affecting certain positions of Ukrainian exports, and expressed hope that the EU and international financial institutions would actively participate in modernization of Ukrainian gas pipeline network, and that the EU “would ensure Ukraine’s energy independence through its relevant means and mechanisms”.
With that in view, Yanukovich said he expected EU countries would revise their plan to build economically unjustified capacities to transport natural gas to Europe in bypassing Ukraine.
“A coordinated plan of action aimed to remove contradictions and settle problems in trade-economic cooperation with Russia and other countries of the Customs Union must become a separate major component of that work,” he said. The president urged Ukraine’s European partners to render assistance “in what concerns the start of cooperation in the Ukraine-EU-Russia format”.
The president confirmed Ukraine’s commitment “to its European choice,” and said it expected “solidarity and support from the European Union, its member countries as well as partner countries”.