US ready to give Ukraine financial aid

Washington, Feb 25: The US is ready to provide financial support to

to complement the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

in a bid to improve the East European country's economy, White House said on Monday.

"The United States, working with partners around the world, stands ready to provide support for Ukraine as it takes the reforms it needs to get back to economic stability," Xinhua quoted White House spokesperson Jay Carney as saying.

The support can complement an IMF programme by helping to make reforms easier and by putting Ukraine in a position to invest more in health and education to help develop Ukraine's human capital and strengthen its social safety net, Carney said.

The Ukrainian finance ministry on Monday asked the international community to provide $35 billion to ensure financial stability in the country. Kiev also proposed to hold an international donour conference to raise the fund.

Carney stressed the importance of a multi-coalition and "technocratic" Ukrainian government that can help the country make "some of the important decisions that need to be made, especially in the economic and financial sphere".

Arseny Yatsenyuk, a member of Ukraine's interim leadership, said on Monday that the country was in danger of bankruptcy.

"The treasury was plundered; the state is on the edge of bankruptcy," he said at a hearing in parliament, saying Ukraine's budget deficit was "incredible" and the country has "no funds to serve its debts."

Ukraine has to repay $17.4 billion of its foreign debt this year.

IANS