European Union officials will travel to Kiev on Monday in a bid to help broker a financial package to assist the country as Ukrainian politicians struggle to form a government in the next 24 hours.
Mr Putin last night attended the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics and is yet to formally respond to frantic diplomatic efforts urging him not to respond with a show of military force.
“We are here ready to help just as soon as there is someone at the end of the telephone,” Mr Osborne said.
He added: “We should be there with a chequebook to help the people of Ukraine rebuild their country.”
Britain “will send a very strong message” that there will be financial support for Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, he added.
His comments came as:
New details emerge of former president Yanukovych’s largesse as the mystery over his whereabouts grows. Mr Yanukovych is understood to have attempted to flee to Russia at the weekend but he may now be hiding in the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Turchynov, the Ukrainian parliamentary speaker, was installed as interim president with the foreign minister among a number of senior figures sacked from the government.
Vigils were held in Independence Square in Kiev for the 88 people killed in the violent battles seen in recent days.
Parliament set a deadline of tomorrow for new unity government to be formed, while presidential elections have been scheduled for May.
Vitaly Klitschko, the former boxing heavyweight champion, has said he will stand in the election. However, Yulia Tymoshenko, the freed opposition leader, has said she does not want to be nominated as prime minister.
There were growing concerns of an irrevocable split between Ukraine’s pro-Russian east and pro-EU west.
With protesters still massed in the heart of Kiev, the first task of Ukraine’s post-revolutionary government will be to stave off national bankruptcy.
Mr Yanukovych had agreed a $15 billion (£9.5 billion) loan from Russia.
If Russia pulls the plug on that deal, Ukraine will need urgent help from elsewhere in order to avoid defaulting on its national debt.
With senior Ukrainian politicians warning that the country’s economy is on the brink of collapse, it has lead to speculation that Britain could become part of massive bailout of the country.
Ukraine is also reliant on Russian gas supplies.
Speaking in Australia, where he was attending a meeting of G20 finance ministers, Mr Osborne said: “The immediate priority is political stability and dealing with trying to restore some order and calm to streets of Kiev and elsewhere.
“But I think the G20 should send a very strong message…and countries like Britain, America and others should send a very strong message that international assistance is there, financial assistance is there for the people of Ukraine, and that whether through the IMF or through the EU we should be there ready to help this country once there’s an accepted and legitimate political authority we can deal with.”
Mr Osborne’s aides last night said that the Chancellor was talking about international financial support and not a UK-specific contribution.
Baroness Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, will today [MONDAY] travel to Ukraine for talks on “measures to stabilise the economic situation”, her spokesman said.
Mr Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, last night told John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, that Ukraine’s opposition have failed to abide by a peace deal signed on Friday and had “in effect seized power in Kiev”
Mr Turchinov, the acting president, last night said that Ukraine is ready to talk to Russia in a bit to try and improve relations. However, he made clear that Kiev’s return to “European integration” would be a priority
In an address to the nation, he said that his country’s new leadership wants to put its relationship with Russia on a “new, equal and good-neighbourly footing, that recognises and takes into account Ukraine’s European choice.
“Another priority,” he added, “is the return to the path of European integration.”
Tensions were also inflamed as Ukraine’s parliament lowered the official status of the Russian language by scrapping a law brought in by Mr Yanukovych.
However, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, yesterday spoke to Mr Putin by telephone and the pair agreed that Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” must be ensured, according to a German spokesman.
Mrs Merkel and Mr Putin are said to have agreed on the need for stability in Ukraine, raising hopes that the Russian leader will not commit troops in the country.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, yesterday warned that Russia should not intervene in the crisis.
He said there was a “moment of opportunity” in Ukraine after MPs voted to oust president Viktor Yanukovych and hold fresh elections in May.
He also warned Russia not to do anything to “undermine” any economic package from western powers in the coming weeks.
Mr Yanukovych is believed to be in the Ukraine’s Russian-leaning east. His officials have insisted that he is still the country’s leader.
A plane to Russia with Mr Yanukovych on board was denied permission to take off on Saturday evening from Donetsk, in the president’s eastern powerbase, the state border guard service said.
Mr Yanukovyvh’s extravagance was exposed yesterday after members of the opposition gained entrance to one of his presidential palaces.
They found luxury cars, exotic animals and birds as well as tennis courts and a gold course. Documents were also found detailing obscene spending on chandeliers for his residence.
Mr Putin last night attended the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics and is yet to formally respond to frantic diplomatic efforts urging him not to respond with a show of military force.
“We are here ready to help just as soon as there is someone at the end of the telephone,” Mr Osborne said.
He added: “We should be there with a chequebook to help the people of Ukraine rebuild their country.”
Britain “will send a very strong message” that there will be financial support for Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, he added.
His comments came as:
New details emerge of former president Yanukovych’s largesse as the mystery over his whereabouts grows. Mr Yanukovych is understood to have attempted to flee to Russia at the weekend but he may now be hiding in the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Turchynov, the Ukrainian parliamentary speaker, was installed as interim president with the foreign minister among a number of senior figures sacked from the government.
Vigils were held in Independence Square in Kiev for the 88 people killed in the violent battles seen in recent days.
Parliament set a deadline of tomorrow for new unity government to be formed, while presidential elections have been scheduled for May.
Vitaly Klitschko, the former boxing heavyweight champion, has said he will stand in the election. However, Yulia Tymoshenko, the freed opposition leader, has said she does not want to be nominated as prime minister.
There were growing concerns of an irrevocable split between Ukraine’s pro-Russian east and pro-EU west.
With protesters still massed in the heart of Kiev, the first task of Ukraine’s post-revolutionary government will be to stave off national bankruptcy.
Mr Yanukovych had agreed a $15 billion (£9.5 billion) loan from Russia.
If Russia pulls the plug on that deal, Ukraine will need urgent help from elsewhere in order to avoid defaulting on its national debt.
With senior Ukrainian politicians warning that the country’s economy is on the brink of collapse, it has lead to speculation that Britain could become part of massive bailout of the country.
Ukraine is also reliant on Russian gas supplies.
Speaking in Australia, where he was attending a meeting of G20 finance ministers, Mr Osborne said: “The immediate priority is political stability and dealing with trying to restore some order and calm to streets of Kiev and elsewhere.
“But I think the G20 should send a very strong message…and countries like Britain, America and others should send a very strong message that international assistance is there, financial assistance is there for the people of Ukraine, and that whether through the IMF or through the EU we should be there ready to help this country once there’s an accepted and legitimate political authority we can deal with.”
Mr Osborne’s aides last night said that the Chancellor was talking about international financial support and not a UK-specific contribution.
Baroness Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, will today [MONDAY] travel to Ukraine for talks on “measures to stabilise the economic situation”, her spokesman said.
Mr Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, last night told John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, that Ukraine’s opposition have failed to abide by a peace deal signed on Friday and had “in effect seized power in Kiev”
Mr Turchinov, the acting president, last night said that Ukraine is ready to talk to Russia in a bit to try and improve relations. However, he made clear that Kiev’s return to “European integration” would be a priority
In an address to the nation, he said that his country’s new leadership wants to put its relationship with Russia on a “new, equal and good-neighbourly footing, that recognises and takes into account Ukraine’s European choice.
“Another priority,” he added, “is the return to the path of European integration.”
Tensions were also inflamed as Ukraine’s parliament lowered the official status of the Russian language by scrapping a law brought in by Mr Yanukovych.
However, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, yesterday spoke to Mr Putin by telephone and the pair agreed that Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” must be ensured, according to a German spokesman.
Mrs Merkel and Mr Putin are said to have agreed on the need for stability in Ukraine, raising hopes that the Russian leader will not commit troops in the country.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, yesterday warned that Russia should not intervene in the crisis.
He said there was a “moment of opportunity” in Ukraine after MPs voted to oust president Viktor Yanukovych and hold fresh elections in May.
He also warned Russia not to do anything to “undermine” any economic package from western powers in the coming weeks.
Mr Yanukovych is believed to be in the Ukraine’s Russian-leaning east. His officials have insisted that he is still the country’s leader.
A plane to Russia with Mr Yanukovych on board was denied permission to take off on Saturday evening from Donetsk, in the president’s eastern powerbase, the state border guard service said.
Mr Yanukovyvh’s extravagance was exposed yesterday after members of the opposition gained entrance to one of his presidential palaces.
They found luxury cars, exotic animals and birds as well as tennis courts and a gold course. Documents were also found detailing obscene spending on chandeliers for his residence.
via Smart Health Shop Forum http://ift.tt/1fwXrOg
No comments:
Post a Comment