Ukraine could compete
with Poland if it had begun to implement the reforms being conducted by the
Government today 10 years ago. Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk told this in an
interview to Channel 5 on Sunday.
"If we had
started to do all that we are doing today 10 years ago, after the Orange
Revolution, we would now compete with Poland in order to find out who is
stronger. We have lost 10 years," he said.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized that the
Cabinet of Ministers is taking steps that were not made over the last 23 years.
"I understand the
political consequences of these reforms. First of all, for
myself and for some members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. But
you cannot waste time on these political implications, because they are to
happen today or tomorrow. You have to think about what will happen within a
year, five, ten years," he stressed.
The Prime Minister
underlined that, on the eve of local elections, some political forces began a
campaign aimed at discrediting the Government. "These so-called lovers of the
Ukrainian people, to have 5 or 10 more deputies in a district council, will
begin to rock the boat," he said.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that he
would not allow anyone to make the Government lose the way of reforms. "I will fend off every idle
talker, including within the coalition, from leading us astray," he
underlined.
At the same time Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted positive
feedback from international partners about reforms in Ukraine, including those
expressed during Prime Minister's visit to Washington.
In particular, the US
Treasury, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development extended a number of statements with positive measures of the
reforms conducted by the Government of Ukraine, and stressed that the country
was moving in the right direction.
"When I read the
statement made by President of the EBRD Suma Chakrabarti, I was just pleased for our country. I do
remember no such statements of the top world economic and political elite
towards Ukraine in the last 23 years. There were no such statements. There were
no such statements even in 2004," Arseniy Yatsenyuk summed up.