OREANDA-NEWS. May 20, 2015. At this, due payments on foreign currency debt obligations alone throughout the next 4 years amount about 30 billion U.S. dollars. This includes both service and the repayment of debt. And issues of justice in relation to the Ukrainian population is to reduce such extraordinary debt burden. Given that today the state budget for 2015 contains equal sum for servicing the debt with that of total expenditure on defence and law enforcement – over 9 billion hryvnias each. It's approximately 5% of GDP each. The Government has the right to direct the funds paid by taxpayers in Ukraine for the needs of its citizens instead of refunding loans having borrowed by the kleptocratic Yanukovych’s regime.

Our bilateral and multilateral partners meet our demands and engage in support of Ukraine’s people. The international community, including the U.S., the European Union and international financial institutions, stand with Ukraine in this difficult time. We have agreed with our international partners regarding:

• USD 17.5 billion to be granted to Ukraine by the IMF (in the case our country implements real reforms for our society);

• USD \\$ 7.2 billion expected by us in the shape of funding from our bilateral partners and international financial organizations.

But it is important that the owners of our debt obligations could also contribute to these efforts. In 2015 alone, having received assistance worth USD 3.1 billion, we have paid back USD 2.4 billion.

Therefore, USD 15.3 billion is the sum to reduce the burden on the balance of payments over the next 4 years, we expect on the outcomes of the negotiations with our international creditors through debt restructuring. Without the vigorous participation of commercial creditors, Ukraine won’t be able to stabilize the situation and resume an economic growth in 2016.

To protect the interests of Ukrainian people, the Government of Ukraine submits to the Verkhovna Rada today the draft laws, those enabling the Government to suspend payments on certain external public debts and guaranteed by the government debts, as specified in the Annex to the relevant Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers. And in case of an attack from unscrupulous creditors to Ukraine, the moratorium will protect the assets of the state and of the public sector.

Any moratorium declared under the new law in the future will not affect our bilateral and multilateral debt obligations, neither it will affect our domestic obligations. The effect of the law is aimed at those external sovereign direct and guaranteed obligations specified in the perimeter (except for the two state-owned banks and Ukrzaliznytsia).

It should be noted that granting such a right to the Government of Ukraine will affect neither the stability of the banking system of the country nor the exchange rate of the Ukrainian hryvnia. But by adopting this law we appeal to our foreign lenders with a request to support Ukraine and share the heavy burden with us.