Ukrainian PM A. Yatseniuk meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington

On Wednesday, March 12, Prime Minister of Ukraine A. Yatseniuk met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington. On his meeting with President Obama, Yatseniuk said, ”It was a very frank and open discussion on how to tackle this dramatic crisis that Ukraine faces at the moment.”

The Prime Minister noted that the particular attention has been focused on the military incursion that the country faces at the moment. "We fight for our freedom. We fight for our independence. We fight for our sovereignty. And we will never surrender”, he underlined.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the military challenge is a key challenge today. "We urge Russia to stick to its international obligations, to pull back its military into barracks and to start the dialogue with no guns, with no military, with no tanks, but with diplomacy and political tools.”

"We still believe that this military crisis can be solved by diplomacy and political mechanisms," said A. Yatseniuk.

"On behalf of the Ukrainian government, I would like to reiterate that we are absolutely ready and open for talks with the Russian Federation. We adhere to all international obligations. And we as the state of Ukraine will fulfill all bilateral and multilateral international treaties,” the Prime Minister underlined.

As A. Yatseniuk informed, “probably in the nearest future, next week or in 10 days, Ukraine is to sign a political part of the Association Agreement with the EU. "We want to be very clear that Ukraine is and will be a part of the Western world,” Yatseniuk said.

He stressed that “our Russian partners have to realize that we are ready to make a new type or to craft a new type of our relationship where Ukraine is part of the EU, but Ukraine is a good friend and partner of Russia”.

"So much will depend on whether Russia wants to have this talk and whether Russia wants to have Ukraine as a partner or a subordinate. As I already indicated, we will never surrender and we will do everything in order to preserve peace, stability and independence of my country", the Prime Minister said.

The PM thanked the U.S. president, the U.S. government and the American people for supporting the Ukrainian people. A. Yatseniuk also praised the U.S. leader's decision to allocate $1 billion to Ukraine in loan guarantees for the development of the Ukrainian economy.

He said that Ukraine resumed talks with the IMF. “We do understand that these are tough reforms, but these reforms are needed for the Ukrainian state. And we are back on track in terms of delivering real reforms in my country”, he added.

"The new Ukrainian government is ready to deliver changes. But we can’t do [that] having a military incursion, having Russian tanks and Russian soldiers on our soil," said the Prime Minister.

Within the framework of his working visit to the United States on March 12-13, Arsenii Yatseniuk is due to hold meetings in the U.S. Congress, as well as with the leadership of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.