You're reading: Abromavicius Leaves, Others Stay; Yatsenyuk: ‘We will keep fighting’

Four Ukrainian government ministers rescinded their resignations late on Feb. 4, following a meeting of ambassadors of G7 nations with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Verkhovna Rada speaker Volodymyr Groysman.

Agriculture Minister Oleksiy Pavlenko, Health Minister Oleksandr Kvitashvili, Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarsky and Information Policy Minister Yuri Stets all agreed to stay, the Cabinet of Ministers announced.

“We will keep fighting for the future of the country,” Yatsenyuk said at the emergency meeting.

The announcement came a day after Economy Minister Aivaras Abramovicius unexpectedly resigned at a news conference, sending shockwaves through Kyiv political circles.

Ambassadors from the G7 countries decried the situation in a joint letter. The next day, thos ambassadors – from the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada and Great Britain – met with Ukraine’s top three political leaders about the situation. In comments later, they emphasized the need for Ukraine’s leaders to pursue reforms and fight corruption as a condition of receiving a multibillion-dollar Western aid package.

At left, parliament speaker Volodymyr Groysman, President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk meet on Feb. 4 in Kyiv with the ambassadors of G7 nations.

At left, parliament speaker Volodymyr Groysman, President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk meet on Feb. 4 in Kyiv with the ambassadors of G7 nations. (Mykola Lazarenko)

Abromavicius’s resignation had threatened to throw the reigning coalition government into chaos, with Groysman saying on Feb. 4 that the country was entering “a grave political crisis.”

Abromavicius said on Feb. 4 that he will not return with the other ministers. Although the four ministers had announced their resignations at various points since July, parliament had not yet approved any departures, leaving them in limbo.

The Feb. 4 about-face came during an extraodinary session at the Cabinet of Ministers.

Abromavicius did not participate in the meeting. In his Feb. 3 resignation speech, the economy minister provided detailed, but unsupported allegations of cronyism and corruption by lawmaker Ihor Kononenko, a close ally and business partner of Poroshenko.

The ministers and other senior government officials attempted to strike a note of unity after 36 hours that exposed infighting and corruption allegations involving the political elite.

“I would like to underscore that the government will not tolerate any political pressure from either coalition partners, or any other political forces,” Yatsenyuk said.

Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi (bottom) and U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt (right) on Feb. 4 speak with journalists after a meeting of G7 ambassadors with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Verkhovna Rada speaker

Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi (bottom) and U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt (right) on Feb. 4 speak with journalists after a meeting of G7 ambassadors with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Verkhovna Rada speaker Volodymyr Groisman. (UNIAN)

Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko echoed Yatsenyuk’s tone in a statement released by the Cabinet of Ministers on Twitter. “We are ready as a team to work and fight for the nation’s future, but we need the support of the (parliamentary) coalition,” Jaresko said.

“We are one team and profess common values. The success of reforms depend on our unity,” Pavlenko said through the Cabinet’s Twitter account.

“I want to work with this team,” Kvitashvili said via the Cabinet’s Twitter account.

Pyvovarsky said: “Civil servants should receive a fair salary taking into consideration the risks and responsibilities they take on.”

Lawmaker Sergii Leshchenko was having none of the show of unity. “What’s happening is a deception of society,” Leshchenko posted on Facebook. “And it’s good that Aivaras doesn’t take part in this.”

Abromavicius’ resignation statement can be read here.

Kyiv Post editor Mark Rachkevych contributed to this report.