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EU, IMF to stop all contacts with Kiev in case martial law is imposed — Russian lawmaker

The first deputy chairman of the international committee of Russia’s upper parliament house says Ukraine will not impose martial law due to economic considerations

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. Kiev’s authorities are unlikely to impose martial law in the country, first of all, due to economic considerations, a Russian lawmaker said on Monday.

“Ukraine will not impose martial law, since it entails other rights and liabilities,” Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy chairman of the international committee of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house, told journalists. “Thus, in such situation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union will stop any contacts with them [Ukraine’s authorities] immediately. No assistance is offered to the military parties to a conflict.”

Ukraine’s economy is now “going all rack and ruin,” he said, adding that the Ukrainian authorities hoped for more tranches but were denied. “And now [Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy] Yatsenyuk, as a representative of the party of war, is very interested to have the conflict escalated. If the conflict is escalated, he will easily justify everything, including his own feebleness as the economic bloc chief,” Dzhabarov said.

Commenting on the Ukrainian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency in southeastern regions and a high alert regime in the rest of the country, the Russian lawmaker noted that Ukraine’s prime minister “who initiates such decisions thinks about the Ukrainian people least of all but is more engrossed in fulfilling order he is receiving apparently from overseas.” “I think sooner or later he will go there /to the United States/ himself,” he added.

In the meantime, Dzhabarov said he was absolutely sure that sooner or later the situation is to be normalized. “It cannot be that way forever. Despite all the efforts to hot heads in Kiev to pit the two peoples - Russian and Ukrainian - against one another, they will never succeed it that, I am sure,” he underscored.

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the government had declared a state of emergency in the country’s east and ordered all territories to be on high alert. “We have decided to introduce a state of emergency in Donetsk and Lugansk regions and a state of high alert across all territories,” Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting.

“The aim of this decision is full coordination of activities of all government bodies to ensure security of citizens and social protection of the population,” he said, adding that the government also planned to set up an emergency committee led by the prime minister. “Please do not confuse it with martial law. Our decisions mean that all services will work 24 hours a day seven days a week,” he noted.