The resignation of
Western-trained Ukrainian Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavičius is another
signal for Western allies that Ukraine may not be able to root out corruption
and implement the reforms.
The resignation of Ukrainian Economy Minister
Aivaras Abromavičius has almost buried hopes that the country will be able
to overcome a "decades-long struggle with corruption," The
Washington Post reported.
On Wednesday, Abromavičius, a Western-trained minister,
resigned, saying he had been unable to beat back corruption.
His resignation is another signal to Ukraine’s
Western partners that Kiev may not be able to implement the reforms.
"The resignation fed growing concerns
from Ukraine’s allies that the country remains stuck in unscrupulous
dealmaking almost two years after pro-Western protesters overthrew
President Viktor Yanukovych, whom they condemned as corrupt," the
article read.
The minister said that he had come under pressure
from senior allies of the country’s president to appoint
unqualified deputies to state-owned companies in the most lucrative
industries in Ukraine.
Abromavičius, who was born in Lithuania, was one
of a small team of foreign specialists whom President Petro Poroshenko invited to join the government in 2014. He was expected
to contribute to fighting corruption in the government,
as a condition for further loans for Ukraine.
However, the article read, the political situation
in Kiev is destabilizing despite the fact that the violence
in eastern Ukraine has largely calmed since September.
Despite Kiev having repeatedly pledged its commitment
to carry out structural reforms, the country's deeply corrupt
political system has remained untouched, Joerg Forbrig, Central and Eastern
Europe expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States,
wrote.
"Ukraine's fledgling democracy edged closer
to dismembering itself this week, as one of the most
reform-minded members of the government stepped down. In his resignation
letter, Economy
Minister Aivaras Abromavicius accused old political elites of systematically blocking
much-needed reforms and paralyzing the fight against rampant corruption;
and singled out a close confidant of President Petro Poroshenko
as one of the main culprits," the expert noted in his article
for Politico.
According to Forbig, Ukraine can still escape this
political suicide, but its time is running out.
Speaking to Russian newspaper Svobodnaya Pressa, Dmitri Zhuravlev, the general director of the Institute
of Regional Problems, underscored that Abromavičius’ resignation is an
indication of Western political elites’ disappointment with the
post-Maidan Ukraine.
"Foreigners do not simply come to Ukraine;
they are sent there. Who sends them is another story. But it is hard
to imagine that Abromavicius sat in Lithuania thinking about how
to get a government post in Ukraine. If he came, it means someone
invited him. And if he has decided to leave, it means that 'that someone'
is extremely dissatisfied with what is happening in the
country," he said.
Source: Sputnik News 07-02-2016
