Ukrainian govt situation influences opinion of Western partners - Klimkin

The government crisis in Ukraine has an influence on the opinion of Western countries about the ability of Kyiv to hold reforms and to retain their high dynamics, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"It [the government crisis] has no effect on the current operations of the ministry - the protection of national interests and the deterrence of the Russian aggression. And I am not saying this as some slogan but speak from the point of view of our activity. Yet the situation clearly has an effect on our friends and partners' vision of what has been going on in Ukraine and its capacity to maintain the dynamics and depth of the reforms," Klimkin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He said Ukraine should not win a military victory against Russia. "However, we should not lose either," the Ukrainian minister said.

"A part of this 'no-lose' logic is the building of a democratic European Ukraine within internationally recognized borders. This is how I would formulate our national idea. This should be the essence of what we have been doing. From this angle, the European partners want us to demonstrate the ability of maintain the depth and speed of the reforms, because no one in the world has an indefinite reserve of time," the minister said.

The Ukrainian authorities "cannot expect our partners to support us as enthusiastically as they have been for the past two years without demonstrating both," he said.

"Time has come to sum up the first results, which show that we need to move on even faster and to cover absolutely all sectors," Klimkin said.

As for the purpose of the Ukrainian trip of the German and French foreign ministers, Klimkin said that he was positive about support from the European Union. "I know that our European partners truly care about us. I am less familiar with [French Foreign Minister] Jean-Marc Ayrault but I have spoken with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and he sincerely thinks that the Ukrainian success is absolutely critical for Europe and the system, which is important for the existence of a stable and democratic Europe," the Ukrainian foreign minister said.