Yatsenyuk: Constitutional reform to restore balance of power in Ukraine

Published April 22, 2014 at 3:31 pm

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that as part of the reform, the central government is to allow the regions to pursue an independent fiscal and financial policy, and provide a special status for national minorities and their languages, including Russia.

Photo by kmu.gov.ua

The Ukrainian constitutional reform is aimed at ensuring the balance of power by giving greater independence to the regions, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

“We are doing the constitutional reform not for the sake of complying
with the Geneva agreements (of April 17), let alone in response to
Russia’s demands. The constitutional reform in our country is a path
towards restoring the balance of power. This is the demand of the
Ukrainian people,” Yatseniuk told a press conference held jointly with
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden in Kyiv on Tuesday.

“And to ensure that every Ukrainian can
influence both central and local authorities,” the prime minister added.