Last year the Government managed to reduce the gross external debt of the country by US$ 4.3 billion and cut the state budget deficit, claimed Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, on Friday, February 5, during An Hour of Questions to the Government at the Parliament.

He reminded that a US$15 billion state debt had been restructured.

"We expect that Russia will file a US$ 3 billion lawsuit against Ukraine, which were nothing more than a political bribe to Yanukovych for non-signing a Free Trade Area Agreement with the EU. Therefore, the Government imposed a moratorium on the payment of this debt."

In the recent two years, the Government has spared no effort to ensure economic stabilization, he stressed, primarily through the reduction of state budget deficit: "These are actual numbers. Our state budget deficit showings are among the best. We cut the so-called non-core expenses, we optimize the system of public authorities, including by reducing the number of public authorities, and the reform of the State Fiscal Service and other executive power bodies".

The Prime Minister appealed to MPs with a request to approve the submitted by the Government draft laws on the reform of the State Fiscal Service: "Give us an opportunity to root out an old corruption-based enclave of corrupt customs officers and corrupt tax inspectors and to change a system of administration and attitude to the Ukrainian business".

Apart from that, the Government proposes to eliminate the tax police and to establish on its base a Financial Investigations Service, reminded Arseniy Yatsenyuk and appealed to the MPs to support this initiative.