Premier says current situation hindering pace of reforms in Ukraine

Yalta - The difficult economic situation in the world and high prices for natural gas are hindering the pace of reforms in Ukraine, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"The reforms are being carried out at a pace at which they are possible in the current situation," he said on Saturday during the 9th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled "Ukraine and the World: Addressing Tomorrow's Challenges Together," which was organized by the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

He said that the opposition's populist policy was a challenge for the government and the ruling Party of Regions.

"The most difficult thing is to resist populism. But there is great hope that Ukrainian people who have been trained with populism over the last 20 years will make the right choice, and we will continue the reforms that we started," Azarov said.