[Also see: <
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/07/24/government-ukraine-collapses/>, <
https://twitter.com/*BBC*Breaking/status/492322916076617728>, <
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/ukrainian-prime-minister-arseny-yatseniuk-resigns>,
<
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/24/ukrainian-prime-minister-yatsenyuk-to-resign/
>, <
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/24/ukraine-prime-minister-resign/13091533/>,
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/25/world/europe/ukraine-parliament-takes-step-toward-elections.html?_r=0>,
<
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/24/us-ukraine-crisis-parliament-idUSKBN0FT14U20140724
>.]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/24/us-ukraine-crisis-parliament-idUSKBN0FT14U20140724

Ukrainian prime minister quits, parties force new election

BY NATALIA ZINETS AND ELIZABETH PIPER
<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=elizabeth.piper&;>

KIEV Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:47pm EDT



Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, standing under a framed photo of
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima, signs a book of
condolence as he commemorates victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 at
the Dutch embassy in Kiev July 21, 2014.

CREDIT: REUTERS/SERGEY DOLZHENKO/POOL

(Reuters) - Ukraine's prime minister tendered his resignation on Thursday,
berating parliament for failing to pass legislation to take control over an
increasingly precarious energy situation and to increase army financing.

Earlier on Thursday, two parties quit the government coalition, forcing new
elections to a parliament whose make-up has not changed since before the
toppling of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich in February.

His successor, President Petro Poroshenko, supported the move, which one
politician said would clear "Moscow agents" from the chamber.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk's resignation could leave a hole at the
heart of decision-making as Ukraine
<http://www.reuters.com/places/ukraine?lc=int_mb_1001> struggles to fund a
war with pro-Russian rebels in its east and deals with the aftermath of a
plane crash that killed 298 people.

The usually mild-mannered Yatseniuk bellowed at politicians who had failed
to pass a law to allow a liberalization of control over Ukraine's pipeline
system.

He said politicians risked losing the hearts and minds of Ukrainians who
had protested for months in the "Maidan" demonstrations in favor of joining
Europe and against Yanukovich.

"History will not forgive us," he told parliament.

"Millions of people made this revolution. We did not take the European
choice but the 'heavenly hundred' and thousands of other Ukrainians did,"
he said, referring to those killed, mainly by sniper fire, during the
protests.

Yatseniuk, who has been central to talks with the European Union and the
United States, cannot leave office immediately, political analysts said,
because he is obliged to continue his duties before a new prime minister
and government are installed.

But his impassioned speech underlined the frustration of many in Ukraine
<http://www.reuters.com/places/ukraine?lc=int_mb_1001> that change in the
higher echelons of power was taking too much time.

"FULL RESET"

Morale has also sunk in Kiev since the downing of a Malaysian airliner in
rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine last week, even though Ukrainian
forces are making headway in the military campaign against the separatists.

Poroshenko welcomed the decision by the nationalist party Svoboda and the
Udar (Punch) party of former boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko to withdraw
from the majority coalition in parliament.

"Society wants a full reset of state authorities," Poroshenko said in a
statement, adding that the move showed that those who decided to quit the
coalition were following the will of the people.

Politicians and pro-European activists have complained that while Ukraine
has a new president, it has yet to elect a new parliament since the
toppling of Yanukovich in February, and accuse his supporters of hampering
its work.

Yatseniuk said that by blocking legislation, like a bill to allow
consortiums with European or U.S. companies to operate Ukraine's ageing gas
distribution system and storage facilities, parliament was putting
Ukraine's future at risk.

By not tackling budget spending, it was also putting the lives of Ukraine's
soldiers in jeopardy, he said.

"It's unacceptable that because laws have not been passed, we now have no
means with which to pay soldiers, doctors, police, we have no fuel for
armored vehicles, and no way of freeing ourselves from dependence on
Russian gas," he said.

"Those people who are sitting there under fire, can we just think of them?"

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets, writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by
Timothy Heritage andRobin Pomeroy
<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=robin.pomeroy&;>
)
-- 
Peace Is Doable

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"Green Youth Movement" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send an email to [email protected].
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Reply via email to