Ambassador Taylor reinforces the need to take steps to fight the economic crisis and work toward political unity in Ukraine
Good day. I'm very pleased to be back with you in this format. It has been some time, I'm very glad to have this opportunity to tell you what's going on here at the United States Embassy in Ukraine.
I've been lucky enough to do some traveling in the past few weeks. Last month I was in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk, and Lviv. These trips give me the opportunity to talk to people in their homes and in their offices. I talk to officials, press, governors, mayors, but also regular people, some of whom have traveled to the United States and some who haven't. The main topic of conversation is the effect the economic crisis is having on people's daily lives.
Of course the financial crisis is affecting people all over the world including the U.S., Europe, Japan, China, Russia, and Ukraine as well. The international community is very concerned about that. We want to see Ukraine succeed and we want to see Ukraine make it through this economic crisis. The international community is doing work to help countries. The International Monetary Fund has offered Ukraine a loan of 16.5 billion dollars to Ukraine to help it through this crisis. It will help real Ukrainians in that it will stabilize the currency.
The International Monetary Fund loan will help the country and individuals and this will be important for the stability of Ukraine. Many people have put their money in the banks and today are worried whether these deposits will be available to them. The IMF loan is designed to bring confidence back to the banking system so that currency will remain stable and the country will regain the investors' confidence.
In order to continue to receive this loan, the government of Ukraine and the Central Bank need to take action; they need to take steps to convince the International Monetary Fund that Ukraine is a good place to lend money. In order to build that confidence, Ukraine's leaders must unite. This is a very difficult thing to do. Everyone knows that Presidential elections are coming up in less than a year. In an election period difficult decisions are tough to make. Politicians want to appeal to a broad population among the electorate. We understand that and Ukrainians understand that. However at this time, when the financial crisis is so severe and dangerous to Ukraine, politicians must work together. They have to do what's for the good of the country. The have to pass some difficult legislation to help Ukraine through this crisis. We are encouraging the politicians to work together. We are encouraging the people of Ukraine to see that this is an economic crisis that they can get through.
The United States is committed to the success of this country. The United States is committed to a prosperous, democratic Ukraine that is a model for the rest of the world, and a model for people in this region, to show that a democratic Ukraine can make it. It is on the path to Europe. Ukraine is a European country and it is on the path to European institutions. It'll take some time, but I am sure that Ukraine will succeed. The people of Ukraine and its leadership will pull together, and the international community and the United States in particular will be working hard for Ukraine, and I am sure that we will succeed. Thank you all very much.