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Justice minister: ‘Ukraine needs peace’

PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp 16.02.2015 11:48
Poland’s Justice Minister Cezary Grabarczyk has said that “Ukraine needs peace and the possibility to concentrate on social and economic change”.
Justice Minister Cezary Grabarczyk (L) and his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Petrenko at the 8th Europe-Ukraine Forum in Łódź, 15.02.2015 Photo: PAP/Grzegorz MichałowskiJustice Minister Cezary Grabarczyk (L) and his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Petrenko at the 8th Europe-Ukraine Forum in Łódź, 15.02.2015 Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Michałowski

The comment came on Sunday during the first day of the 8th Europe-Ukraine Forum in the central city of Łódź, which looks at social, economic and political issues in the country.

Grabarczyk said that every conflict hampers efforts to introduce reforms, saying that “this is frustrating, [so] the longer the ceasefire holds the better”.

A ceasefire which was agreed upon by the heads of state of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in the Belarusian capital of Minsk last week has largely held, although fighting has continued in the Ukrainian town of Debaltseve, a major transport hub.

The BBC reports that OSCE observers were denied access to the besieged town by pro-Russian rebels on Sunday, with the separatists maintaining that since they have ecircled the town it should remain in their hands.

Meanwhile, in Łódź Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said that Ukraine has paid a high price for choosing to become closer to Europe, voicing his hopes that Russian president Vladimir Putin will put a stop to the aggression in the Donbas.

“We are certain that only a resolute stance on the part of [Ukraine] and our allies will stop [Putin],” he said, adding that “we cannot be treated as if we were not an [independent] state”.

Head of Poland’s Supreme Audit Office, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski also said in Łódź that in the past months, the institution has helped draft legislation on the Ukrainian civil service and public finances.

“We are training future civil servants, Ukrainian students, how to spend and account for EU money, teaching them the standards which are used across the entire EU,” Kwiatkowski said. (jb)

Source: PAP

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