13:45 17.03.2015

Ukraine needs more bailout financing – Ukraine finance minister

2 min read
Ukraine needs more bailout financing – Ukraine finance minister

Ukraine needs more bailout financing than currently promised to help jump-start the embattled nation’s economy, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said Monday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

"The package that we have is going to stabilize the financial banking system, but it’s not enough to seriously restart growth and promote growth," Jaresko said after meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

The newspaper said that in meetings with senior U.S. Treasury, State Department and White House officials and lawmakers, Jaresko this week is making the case that backing Ukraine will pay geopolitical dividends.

"If, for whatever reason, one of our partners is not willing to come up with, or not able to come up with defensive military support, then provide us with financial support," Jaresko said.

But aside from promising to guarantee $2 billion of new Ukraine debt and working with the World Bank, Europe and other international lenders to provide support, U.S. officials haven’t indicated they are prepared to cough up any more cash, the newspaper said.

"Right now the coalition seems to be unified," the finance minister said.

"You can’t be half-pregnant. You can’t half-reform your economy," she added.

Still, Jaresko acknowledges the risks to the bailout program are real. The cease-fire may fail, bank runs are a possibility, and there could be "a serious blowback to the reforms we’re undertaking," she said.

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