July 17, 2015

Yatsenyuk warns against slowing reforms

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WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has dismissed legislation in the Verkhovna Rada that would water down economic reforms demanded by the West in exchange for loans, saying it is sponsored by “lunatics.” In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Yatsenyuk predicted that none of several controversial bills to roll back reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund would reach the floor of the Parliament. If they do, he said, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will veto them. “In every Parliament, you have populists. Sometimes they look like lunatics,” Mr. Yatsenyuk said. “This government and this president are determined and committed to our reform agenda.” U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said the U.S. government would keep supporting Ukraine as long as it keeps moving in the right direction. “The pressure is on the Parliament to keep moving forward and to not slip backward,” she said. “These are hard choices. The prime minister feels the pressure. But as long as they’re moving forward, they’re not alone.” (RFE/RL, based on reporting by the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse)

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