- Title: Ukrainian parliament appoints new defence, foreign ministers
- Date: 29th August 2019
- Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) CANDIDATE FOR UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER, ANDRIY ZAHORODNYUK, AT PODIUM VARIOUS OF LAWMAKERS IN PARLIAMENT CHAMBER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, IN PARLIAMENT CHAMBER LAWMAKERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) CANDIDATE FOR UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER'S POSITION, ANDRIY ZAHORODNYUK, SAYING: "Armed forces during war times is certainly a crucial issue. And it is a crucial issue in terms of personnel training. We must invest a lot of money, must invest a lot of efforts so that our servicemen are more effective than those of the enemy. Only then we will have a serious chance to achieve military tasks which were assigned to us." FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT AND LAWMAKER, PETRO POROSHENKO, TALKING TO COLLEAGUES (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) CANDIDATE FOR UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER'SPOSITION , ANDRIY ZAHORODNYUK, SAYING: "The most important thing that must be done - and it is a top priority - is to turn the state politics implemented by the defence ministry and supported by the government and parliament towards an ordinary serviceman. It may sound as a mere declaration, but believe me, it is a practical issue. The issue of supplies for the army is an urgent issue now, discipline is an urgent issue now, dismissals is an urgent issue now, social benefits is (an) urgent (issue)." SCREEN SHOWING LAWMAKERS VOTING FOR NEW DEFENCE MINISTER LAWMAKERS APPLAUDING ZAHORODNYUK SHAKING HANDS WITH PRIME MINISTER, OLEKSIY HONCHARUK, AND TAKING SEAT CANDIDATE FOR FOREIGN MINISTER, VADYM PRYSTAIKO, SPEAKING AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) CANDIDATE FOR FOREIGN MINISTER'S POSITION, VADYM PRYSTAIKO, SAYING: "Our top foreign policy task is to resume peace in the east and to end the occupation of Crimea. We have been fighting against Russian Federation for five long years. Despite dramatic forecasts, we survived in this losing fight and we keep surviving. We pay a daily price of our servicemen's and civilians' lives, of terrorist attacks in peaceful cities, of victims of mines and explosive devices, of slow development, discord, hatred and intolerance which is rooted in our society." ZAHORODNYUK TALKING TO HONCHARUK (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) CANDIDATE FOR FOREIGN MINISTER'S POSITION, VADYM PRYSTAIKO, SAYING: "We slid back to the lowest position among European countries. We can't live like this anymore and we won't. We need peace for our economic and social development. We need coordinated efforts and domestic investments, (we need) to activate human capital assets to re-establish post-industrial manufacturing, to increase exports rapidly. We need peace and stability - everything that the war stole from us. We cannot and will not have endless negotiations in various formats." SCREEN SHOWING LAWMAKERS VOTING FOR NEW FOREIGN MINISTER LAWMAKERS APPLAUDING ZAHORODNYUK GREETING PRYSTAIKO PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TRIBUNE ZAHORODNYUK AND PRYSTAIKO TALKING TO LAWMAKERS
- Embargoed: 12th September 2019 18:49
- Keywords: Ukraine parliament defence minister foreign minister Andriy Zahorodnyuk Vadym Prystaiko Volodymyr Zelenskiy Servant of the People
- Location: KIEV, UKRAINE
- City: KIEV, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AU9VVW9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ukrainian parliament approved candidacies for foreign and defence ministers nominated by the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during its first session on Thursday (August 29).
Lawmakers reconvening after a national election in July ratified the nomination of former Ukrainian ambassador to NATO Vadym Prystaiko as foreign minister, and lawyer and activist Andriy Zahorodnyuk as defence minister. Zelenskiy had warned the legislature that it risked being dissolved if it dragged its feet over reforms.
Political novice and presidential protege Oleksiy Honcharuk was appointed as Ukraine's prime minister earlier on Thursday and said economic reforms aimed at accelerating growth would be the focus of his premiership.
Zelenskiy, a comedian-turned-politician, became president in April in a landslide election win that transformed Ukraine's political landscape.
His party, Servant of the People, won 254 of 450 seats in parliamentary elections in July, the first time a ruling president's party has won an absolute majority in the legislature and the right to independently form a government.
On Thursday he cautioned lawmakers that he could dissolve the chamber if he saw no progress.
The parliament also voted for a new government in which Finance Minister Oksana Markarova retained her post.
Since 2015, Markarova has worked as deputy finance minister and last year she took the post of minister and negotiator with the International Monetary Fund.
Honcharuk said that Ukraine would continue to cooperate with the IMF and start talks over a new programme - which would replace an existing $3.9 billion standby deal - in a few weeks.
The IMF helped the economy recover from a sharp recession and currency crash following the outbreak of hostilities between government and pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
(Production: Serhiy Takhmazov, Yuriy Muravyov, Margaryta Chornokondratenko, Maria Stromova) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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