Government addresses to foreign creditors with a clear proposal on restructuring terms and procedure of debt amounting $ 15 billion

“We’ve addressed to our creditors with a clear proposal regarding the debt restructuring terms and procedure. And we ask, address and insist that foreign creditors realize the situation and accepted the proposal of Ukraine, which is correct and which is a step of creditors to assist Ukraine. It's time to help Ukraine on the part of creditors,” - Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk said during An Hour of Questions to the Government in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, May 15.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk recalled that in that moment, when Viktor Yanukovych became the President, external debt of Ukraine amounted to 31 billion dollars: “When Yanukovych left the country, Ukraine's external debt reached 72 billion US dollars. During three years of the Yanukovych regime and those representing Yanukovych today in the Opposition bloc, former head of the administration of President Yanukovych, who is in this hall, his former accomplices, took 40 billion of credits.”

However, he stressed that the Government is unable to repay these loans due to the reduction of social payments, pensions and salaries.

Therefore, as part of the work with the International Monetary Fund debt restructuring is “the primary subject of the work of the Ministry of Finance and the Government in general.”

The Prime Minister recalled that last year Ukraine received loans for a total volume of 9 billion US dollars from the IMF, member state of the G7 and other international partners. While the Government paid 14 billion to foreign creditors.

“Last year we managed to reduce the country's external debt from 71 billion to 68. Any penny, which we took as loans last year, we haven't spent for anything except on repayment of external debts, which we had not taken,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

He recalled the new program with the IMF for three years, a total funding of $ 25 billion, of which 17.5 billion dollars - funds from the IMF, $7.5 billion – the US, EU and other international contributors.

“While the International Monetary Fund clearly pointed out: the total amount of funds necessary for Ukraine is not 25 billion, but at least 40 billion over three years. And these $ 15 billion, which is not enough as direct investments in the Ukrainian economy, we have to restructure,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

The PM appealed to international creditors: “the country is at the war, we lost 20% of the economy. The Government is very firm in its position on the need to complete negotiations on the debts restructuring of the country.”