Yaro Bihun
Aivaras Abromavicius, who resigned on February 3 from his position as Ukraine’s economy minister, citing “the sharp escalation in efforts to block systemic and important reforms.”
Poroshenko: Abromavicius should stay on
Ukraine’s minister of economic development and trade abruptly resigned on February 3, citing obstacles to change and raising concerns about the war-torn country’s ability to institute sweeping reforms and rebound economically.
Lithuanian-born Aivaras Abromavicius announced on February 3 that he had submitted his resignation due to “the sharp escalation in efforts to block systemic and important reforms.”
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, reacting that same day to Mr. Abromavicius’s resignation, said that the economy minister should stay at his post and push ahead with reforms.
Announcing that he was submitting his resignation, Mr. Abromavicius said in a statement to reporters that he had “no wish to be a cover for open corruption or puppets under the control of those who want to establish control over state money in the style of the old authorities.”
He singled out Ihor Kononenko, a senior lawmaker close to President Petro Poroshenko, saying Mr. Kononenko had lobbied to get his people appointed to head state companies and at top government positions.
Mr. Kononenko rejected the allegations as “completely absurd” and accused Mr. Abromavicius of trying to shift the blame for his own failures atop the Economy Ministry.
“I would like to make clear that each and every member of this Cabinet for the last 14 months has been doing everything in their power and sometimes even more,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a Cabinet meeting.
One of three foreign-born ministers
Mr. Abromavicius, a 40-year-old former asset manager, was one of several foreigners appointed to official posts as part of Ukraine’s attempts to pull the country away from its Soviet past, recover from Russia’s seizure of Crimea and kick-start a reform process.
His departure leaves two foreign-born ministers, U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and Georgia-born Health Minister Aleksandr Kvitashvili.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has since taken on Ukrainian citizenship, is governor of the Odesa region and has played an oversize public role in Ukrainian politics.
Mr. Abromavicius’s resignation came amid parliamentary anger with Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s government and infighting among political interests tied to powerful tycoons.
There has also been growing public discontent that the pro-Western government has not delivered on promises to stamp out corruption, raising the prospect of a ministerial reshuffle.
Western reaction
In a tweet upon news of the resignation, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt described Mr. Abromavicius as “one of [the] main reformers” and said, “Reforms must continue.”
The government is “a fire and Yatsenyuk himself is in the ring of fire,” political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told the Reuters news agency. He also suggested there is currently insufficient support in parliament for an alternative to Mr. Yatsenyuk.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Eurobonds slumped on the news of Mr. Abromavicius’s resignation over concern among investors that Kyiv’s commitment to implement reforms might fade, threatening to derail a $40 billion aid-for-reforms deal championed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), United States, and European Union.
Initial government estimates show Ukraine’s economy shrinking by more than 10 percent last year.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters and Bloomberg.
Copyright 2016, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20036; www.rferl.org (see http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-economy-minister-resigns/27529578.html).