U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on October 11 called on Ukraine’s partners and allies to fulfill their commitments to support the country ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
“Ukraine continues to defend its sovereignty against Russia’s brutal war of aggression — including [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s horrific missile attacks yesterday that injured and took the lives of innocent civilians,” Yellen said before her bilateral meeting with Marchenko in Washington.
Yellen expressed deep condolences for the attacks, which hit Kyiv and other large Ukrainian cities for the first time in months.
“Once again, the world has seen the true nature of Russia’s barbaric and illegal war. The United States continues to stand resolutely with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We will continue to support you as you rebuild the prosperous and free Ukraine that your country has fought so hard to secure,” Yellen told Marchenko.
Washington intends to disburse $4.5 billion in direct budget support to Ukraine in the coming weeks, she said.
“We’re committed to getting this funding to you as soon as possible because we know how important it is in supporting your brave resistance to Russia’s illegal invasion,” she told Marchenko.
When Congress approved that funding two weeks ago it brought total U.S. direct budget support for Ukraine to $13.5 billion — all in grants, she said.
U.S. financial support is making a difference in the war, and the value of the support can’t be underestimated, Marchenko said.
Washington has also joined with Ukraine’s major international creditors to suspend its Ukraine’s bilateral debt service payments this year and next year, Yellen said.
But she added that international support for Ukraine is a “collective effort” and called on partners and allies “to join us by swiftly disbursing their existing commitments to Ukraine and by stepping up in doing more” to help Ukraine continue government services and begin to rebuild and recover.
Ukraine has said it needs up to $5 billion a month in long-term commitments to cover its budget costs, including pensions and military spending, and to continue servicing its debts owed to domestic banks.
Yellen said she also expected to discuss additional sanctions on Russia during her meeting with Marchenko. Sanctions and export controls on Russia’s military industrial complex “have disrupted Russia’s operations, shuttered factories, depleted arsenals, and forced Putin to rely increasingly on arms suppliers of last resort, like North Korea and Iran,” she said.
Yellen and other finance officials representing Group of Seven (G7) countries will meet to discuss Ukraine’s financing and reconstruction needs on October 12 on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Officials from the IMF and Ukraine will meet in Vienna next week for technical discussions on Ukraine’s budget with an eye to laying the groundwork for a future full-fledged lending program.
Germany, the current president of the G7, will host a conference on Ukraine’s recovery in Berlin on October 25.
Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.