Kyiv, 4 February 2016

Arseniy YATSENYUK, Prime Minister of Ukraine: Dear Members of the Cabinet! Dear media representatives!

We have convened an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine aimed to make now a statement of the Government of Ukraine and the Ministers, who were appointed by the Parliament of Ukraine. We all together are working in extremely difficult circumstances. Today we have held a lot of discussions on how we have to work further together and what is needed for that. I would like to start from the main point – the Government will not tolerate any political pressure and political discredit from both coalition partners and any other political forces. So, I firstly would like now to give the floor to Oleksiy PAVLENKO, the Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine.

Oleksiy PAVLENKO, Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine: Thank you very much. I understand full responsibility for the fate of the nation in a very hard and historical period. I want publicly to withdraw my resignation if the following principles are implemented.

First: I go against destructive political pressure on the process of reform implementation – both from the parties, factions and individual MPs. Second: I will insist on completing all initiated processes in the area of deregulation, on food safety reform, on land reform as well as on transparent agricultural privatization, on human resources upgrade in authorities and accordingly on further fight against the existing Russian economic aggression, incl. embargo, as well as to continue our successful European integration in common European market.

There are already significant results. The business representatives as well as Ukrainian society have put value on this. I want my children to live in this country called Ukraine. We are a united team and adhere to common values. And the success of reforms depends  on our unity. If these principles are not implemented, we will not work. Thank you.

Yuriy STETS, Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine: I have one principle –the maximum transparency of the authorities. Without the dialogue between society and the authorities, it is impossible to pass the message to people that we are all the same. We also are the citizens of Ukraine and do want this country to change.

I publicly declare that I withdraw my resignation. But I want to make it clear to all authorities in Ukraine that only the dialogue with society can provide us with the opportunity to save the unity of Ukraine and could enable us to save the country. Therefore, I emphasize that all authorities should hold their meetings publicly and live. The representatives of all authorities, including those sitting here, have to give every month a public report on the activities of its government agency. Moreover, I stress and demand that all telephone calls as well as personal meetings with representatives of political forces, with acting MPs and representatives of business entities have to be fixed in a separate register and have to be published on the first media request.

Similarly to that, either in case the representatives of business entities, business elite or representatives of some political forces try to put pressure on the Government representatives for lobbying personnel matters, or their own business interests or in case they interfere in the public authorities’ activity, I do request the heads of those authorities, including the current Ministers, to go public immediately – to communicate both with Ukrainian and foreign media, to inform the representatives of the NGOs as well as our partners all over the world on such a pressure. I also request to pass this information immediately to all newly created anti-corruption authorities. That will make the society well-informed and bring understanding that we are ready to be as transparent as possible.

But we will not allow any pressure, and under no circumstances will fall for those attempts – including by representatives of political forces of our ‘partner’ from North here – to loosen and to obstacle the opportunity for normal activity of the Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian authorities in general. Thank you.

Oleksandr KVITASHVILI, Minister of Health Care of Ukraine: I would like to declare publicly that I withdraw my resignation. I come from Georgia, and I came to Ukraine to work and to fight for the future of this beautiful country. I did this consciously, I wanted and I want to do it now. In the future, I will always fight for the future of Ukraine. I have been working in this team and do I want to keep working in this team. I do not want to leave. I do not want to leave my work half done. There are results of the work of this team and the work of my team in the Ministry. For your understanding: only this year we succeeded in making it not possible to steal millions of UAH, hundreds of millions of UAH by procurement transferring to ‘international organizations’. There is 60% difference for procurement by only one program. I do not want to give it up. I do want Ukraine a normal, civilized European country. So it will not be possible to steal and to earn on human health. And I support already declared principles and will be declared further.

I want to add one more point. I want, I ask and I demand: those laws that are stuck for seven months in the Verkhovna Rada without adoption, and this does not give us the opportunity to build a normal, modern European health care system. Give us this opportunity. We are ready to fight for the future of Ukraine. Give me this opportunity. Let me show that it is possible. That Ukraine deserves a better future, and that the European future is not a myth, but a reality. Just give us this opportunity. Thank you.

Andriy PYVOVARSKYI, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine: Dear colleagues. Holding a degree in history, I always draw historical parallels when make certain phenomena analysis. Ukraine has very often appeared in situations, when there were unique chances for the country’s development. But if we look in the history, we will see that when such chances occurred, the authorities often took the decisions which have led to worsen the situation or even to losing Ukraine’s independence. Today we are in a situation when Aivaras’s statement has brought unique opportunities and has launched certain centrifugal forces. And as a historian, I think that those forces are to be used for the best of Ukraine and for the benefit of all the Ukrainians. And today, having had a long discussion with my colleagues, I am ready to announce that I will withdraw my resignation, I withdraw my resignation under the condition that those principles my colleagues have just mentioned will be fulfilled. But apart from them, there are several principles more.

The first principle is a fair salary for civil servants. Dear colleagues, we have to have no illusions, we have to create necessary conditions for the fight against corruption – not only against petty corruption, but on absolutely different one. This has been discussed for 24 years. We have to have no illusions and take a hard decision that may be difficult for a certain part of society, but the civil servants have to receive fair salaries – taking into account the challenges they face as well as the responsibility they bear.

The second principle. I have launched several important processes at Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways). Within the last year, billions of UAH have been saved during the state procurements. To some extend Ukrzaliznytsia along with other enterprises of the Ministry of Infrastructure became a sample area for the ProZorro system, which was tested during the first half of the year. And if you take a look, you will see that as of today the enterprises of the Ministry of Infrastructure are the top users of the ultra-high-quality ProZorro system for conducting public procurements. Public procurements in the state-owned enterprises are to become a norm. There have to be no exceptions. We have to switch to the new transparent procurement conditions that would allow us to save huge amounts of money, and thus we will be able to pay fair salaries not only to civil servants, but also to the heads of the state-owned enterprises. We have to put this principle into the law, to have no illusions, to start living a new life and build our country.

If those principles my colleagues have mentioned and those I’m talking about now are fulfilled, I am ready to keep on working, and so are my colleagues.

Natalie YARESKO, Minister of Finance of Ukraine: We all came here a year ago to build our country together. In order to be successful we need support from the coalition in the Parliament. Last year we have gotten this support despite permanent resistance and opposition. It has not to be done this way. It is not normal. We are ready to work further as a team. We are ready as a team to fight for the future of our country and for the future of our people. But we do need a real support from the coalition.

It has to become a principle to have irrevocable support of our reforms program, of the IMF program, including the immediate adoption of all the legislation necessary for transparent privatization. There should be no political interference into the management change in the top-60 of the state owned enterprises based on independent nomination committee created at this Government a year ago. We are also talking about the depolitization of the State Fiscal Service, where we have started a new system of tax administration.

I urge all political forces to save the country, to stay away from the personal interests, to fight for our future together, and to facilitate the reforms we have started and are implementing. Thanks for your attention.

Arseniy YATSENYUK, Prime Minister of Ukraine: I would like to express my personal gratitude to everyone who is sitting at this table. We have formed this Government a year ago. Many of you did not know each other at that time. But throughout the year we have become a real team. And what is happening today is the proof that we are indeed the team of the Government of Ukraine. The Government of Ukraine that is pursuing the reforms crucial for the country. We have the following principle: one for all and all for one. We came as one team and we will work as a united team.

We have indicated the principles the Government will further follow in its activity. These principles were signed by the members of the coalition, all that was laid out on paper. We require not declarations, but sticking to what the society and the people of Ukraine expect from us – honesty, transparency, responsibility. No blackmail, no political pressure and no horse-trading under the table for the positions of ministers, deputy ministers, heads of state-owned companies.

Exceptionally honest and transparent work. Unity between the Government, the President and the Parliament. Unity in the principles, values and approaches. Therefore, we have taken the following decision. That is the decision to work as the united team and the decision on the preparation and promulgation of a clear step-by-step action plan at least for the next 12 months. The action plan that envisages the adoption of the laws and its implementation. The action plan that provides the following: the Minister, appointed by the Parliament, has to bear full responsibility for his sector and for the Ministry he chairs. And no politician has the right to interfere in the Minister’s activities and the activity of the Government in general – protecting his own business interests or through political blackmail and attempts to influence the decision of the particular Minister or (the head) of particular public company, which is approved by the Minister and a nominating committee on clear and transparent terms.

We declare these as the principles for our future activity. We came here together, we work together. When our mission is accomplished – we will leave together. But now we clearly state: we will continue our fight for the future of the country and for what the people of Ukraine wait for – for real and efficient changes in the country. Thank you.