“We’ve addressed to our creditors with a clear proposal regarding the debt
restructuring terms and procedure. And we ask, address and insist that foreign
creditors realize the situation and accepted the proposal of Ukraine,
which is correct and which is a step of creditors to assist Ukraine. It's
time to help Ukraine on the part of creditors,” - Prime Minister of Ukraine
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said during An Hour of Questions to the Government in the
Verkhovna Rada on Friday, May 15.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk recalled that in that moment, when Viktor Yanukovych became
the President, external debt of Ukraine amounted to 31 billion
dollars: “When Yanukovych left the country, Ukraine's external
debt reached 72 billion US dollars. During three years of the Yanukovych regime
and those representing Yanukovych today in the Opposition bloc, former head
of the administration of President Yanukovych, who is in this hall, his
former accomplices, took 40 billion of credits.”
However, he stressed that the Government is unable to repay these loans due
to the reduction of social payments, pensions and salaries.
Therefore, as part of the work with the International Monetary Fund debt
restructuring is “the primary subject of the work of the Ministry of Finance
and the Government in general.”
The Prime Minister recalled that last year Ukraine received loans
for a total volume of 9 billion US dollars from the IMF, member state of the G7
and other international partners. While the Government paid 14 billion to foreign
creditors.
“Last year we managed to reduce the country's external debt from 71 billion
to 68. Any penny, which we took as loans last year, we haven't spent for
anything except on repayment of external debts, which we had not taken,”
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
He recalled the new program with the IMF for three years, a total funding
of $ 25 billion, of which 17.5 billion dollars - funds from the IMF, $7.5
billion – the US, EU and other international contributors.
“While the International Monetary Fund clearly pointed out: the total
amount of funds necessary for Ukraineis not 25 billion, but at least 40
billion over three years. And these $ 15 billion, which is not enough as direct
investments in the Ukrainian economy, we have to restructure,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk
said.
The PM appealed to international creditors: “the country is at the war, we
lost 20% of the economy. The Government is very firm in its position on the
need to complete negotiations on the debts restructuring of the country.”
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