The United States calls on the sides to come together on refreshing the Supervisory Board of Naftogaz Ukrainy and its CEO, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said.

"We spoke out yesterday about our concern with regard to the ongoing leadership crisis in Naftogaz, including the fact that some of the international supervisors have just resigned. So, here we call on the sides to come together on refreshing the board, refreshing the CEO and doing it in a manner that meets OECD governance principles," Nuland said at the YES Brainstorming conference in Kyiv on Friday.

The U.S. Under Secretary of State said it was a success story for Ukraine to establish a professional international supervisory board that selects world-class CEOs.

She said that especially when Ukraine wants to move on the course of more privatizations, it is necessary that the management of the main 100 Ukrainian companies meet international standards. Therefore, the structures that have been established are very good, but when the rules and legislation that have been introduced are not followed, Ukraine and Ukrainians suffer.

Nuland said this applies not only to Naftogaz, but to the general investment climate in Ukraine.

"If you, like all of us, want more American, European companies to come to Ukraine, then the more they see the international standards of the OECD, the more confidence they will have," she said.

At the same time, Nuland said that many U.S. companies want to do more in Ukraine.

The Under Secretary of State said that Ukraine has taken important steps, including last year, regarding land reform, anti-corruption aspects, and the promotion of important reform legislation through the Verkhovna Rada.

"As you say, the stronger, cleaner, more democratic and more transparent Ukraine can be, the more it will be able to give to its citizens, the more it will be able to integrate with Europe, the more it will be ready on the way to NATO and the EU," she said.

The United States has seen some very good progress, Nuland said.

"However, there is still work to be done," she said.

YES Brainstorming is organized by the Yalta European Strategy (YES) and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.