Remarks by Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a session of the Government on January 28, 2015

YATSENYUK A.P.- Dear representatives of the media! Dear participants of the session of the Government!

I would like to begin with operation of the State Emergency Committee regarding measures aimed at overcoming the consequences of the terrible attacks and killings of Ukrainian civilians by Russian fighters in Mariupol. Every day at 16:30 p.m. the operational staff of the State Emergency Committee holds a meeting. Yesterday such a meeting took place in Dnipropetrovsk headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee. Today, a meeting of the operation staff is to be held by the deputy head of the Committee in Poltava.

All services, including the Emergency Service and public authorities are working to help victims and gradually begin the recovery process of Mariupol and other cities affected by the Russian terrorists.

Today the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approves a decision to allocate UAH10 million out of the reserve fund to the city of Mariupol, which should be spent on immediate restoration works, and from these funds the government of the city should provide financial assistance for the injured and families of those killed.

Regarding assistance to other settlements, including Avdiivka and Debaltseve, now the State Emergency Committee works with the purpose to calculate the necessary amount of money and along with the local authorities and local businesses and with the help of the central Government to finance the immediate needs. A meeting of the State Emergency Committee will be held next week. I recall that it was created on Monday, the Government has introduced state of emergency in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and introduced high alert mode throughout Ukraine.

Now the Government not only receives on-line information, but quickly resolves issues on inventory of all objects of civil protection, all hospitals, all possible means for displaced persons in the event of possible evacuation. The Ministry of Health conducts an inventory of drugs and medicines and assesses the additional need for acquisition. We are to hold an extended meeting of the State Emergency Committee at the State Emergency Service next week.

Second. I would like to instruct the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine to immediately create a conciliation commission with the trade unions of the miners, the heads of state mines and our coal miners in order that everyone knows all about the program of the Ukraine’s coal industry reform. People should be confident that they will work tomorrow, and if this or that mine is under the reform, then what kind of work those who worked in the mine swill get, what financial compensation they will receive.

So, I instruct the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry along with the Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Finance, the National Energy Regulation Commission, SE "Energorynok", SE "Coal of Ukraine", MPs and representatives of the trade unions to establish a conciliation commission and in the framework of the operation of this commission to present a plan aimed at reforming the coal industry as a whole, and it’s time to approve this plan at a Government’s meeting , and address issues that bother people, including their workplace and their salary.

Separately, I am to meet with representatives of the relevant industry.

Third. Today we are to consider a number of issues. It’s about the Law of Ukraine "On Lustration" and we’ll get short information from the Minister of Justice, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the State Fiscal Service as three bodies which, according to the law, are carrying out their part of the work as to the lustration verification and purification of the Ukrainian authorities.

The second set of issues. Today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will inform about how we are going to bring the Russian Federation to justice in international courts for sponsoring terrorism. Russia is a state-aggressor and Russia is a sponsor of terrorism in Ukraine. Last week we conducted the first round of the appropriate technical advice prior to submission of the relevant claims to the International Court of Justice. Therefore, I will ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform about the course of events as to the involvement of the Russian Federation to responsibility for a breach of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

The third set of issues concerns deregulation and reduction of state influence on the economy. Despite the fact that we are having military economy and the Government with the whole country is actually in a state of war, we continue carrying out the reforms and changes which are much needed, so that over the certain period of time the economic situation could stabilize.

And by the way, yesterday I read that different statements made by senior officials of the International Monetary Fund as well as foreign creditors, and according to them, the main problem is, objectively, the war that was unleashed by Russia.

But we will do what proves necessary to stabilize the economic situation, as sooner or later the war will end, peace will come. However, peace must be fought for by all means and tools, and not a single step backwards.

Not a single step backwards during changes and economic reforms. Today the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine is to present the first deregulation package, which will enable to reduce the number of regulatory functions as well as the impact on the economy from different state bodies.

So I ask very quickly and briefly, the Minister of Justice, Interior Minister and Chairman of the SFS, to inform the country about the implementation of the Law "On Lustration".