Ushering in a new era of political stability, the Ukrainian Parliament has approved a three-party coalition government headed by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
As many as 240 Deputies in the 450-member Parliament, known as the Verhovna Rada, voted Thursday in favor of the new team that replaces Yulia Tymoshenko's pro-Western Orange coalition.
Earlier in the day, a new political alliance named "The Stability and Reforms Coalition" was formed under the leadership of President Viktor Yanukovych's Regions Party. Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvy announced that a coalition agreement was signed by his bloc, the Regions Party, and the Communist Party, and proposed Azarov as Prime Minister.
Azarov (62), a close ally of Yanukovych, had served as Acting Prime Minister, First Deputy Prime Minister, and Finance Minister in varying terms since 2002.
Addressing the Parliament after getting its approval, Azarov pledged to eliminate the financial problems created by the previous government, saying his main task is to redraft and get approved a realistic budget.
The Russian-born former Finance Minister exposed the plight of the nation when he said "the country has been plundered, the coffers are empty, state debt has risen threefold."
Azarov said he hoped that the IMF would resume lending.
Setting out his program to Deputies, Azarov said his government would do everything it could to pull the country out of crisis but its burden would not fall on the poor.
But he added: "If tough measures have to be taken, we will explain the need for them to people and we will push them through."
He sounded positive when he said 2010 was going to be a year of stabilization in Ukraine.
Referring to experts, he said a second wave was expected in 2012. It would be a turning point for reform in Ukraine. He cautioned that reforms should be well prepared.
Azarov has seven Deputies in his Cabinet. The First Deputy Prime Minister is Andriy Klyuev, and the others are Sergei Tigipko, who came in third in the presidential election, Boris Kolesnikov, Volodymyr Seminozhenko, Volodymyr Sivkovich, Viktor Slauta and Viktor Tikhonov.
Ukraine's new Foreign Minister is Kostyantyn Hryshchenko, former Ambassador to Russia. Former Navy commander Myhailo Yezhel is the new Defense Minister.
Fedir Yaroshenko will take care of Finance Ministry while Vasyl Tsushko will assume charge of the Economics Ministry - the two domains that requires high-priority attention to salvage the former Soviet Republic out of deep recession.
Formation of an alternative coalition within a week of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's resignation was made possible following a constitutional amendment earlier this week, making it easier for parties to form coalitions by allowing them to recruit individual Deputies rather than just parliamentary blocs.
Tymoshenko's coalition Cabinet was ousted in a no-confidence vote on March 2, dealing a double blow to the 49-year-old blonde leader who lost last month's presidential election.
The development clears the way for a new government committed to the policy programs of Yanukovych, who is trying to demonstrate that he will balance relations with Moscow and the West and his commitment to developing relations with Europe.
Battered by the economic downturn, Ukraine was badly in need of a new, stable government to adopt a delayed 2010 budget and restart talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a suspended $16.4 billion bail-out package.
The emergence of a new administration also helped the country to avoid a snap poll.
The European Union has pledged Ukraine "more than half a billion euros (more than $6.75 million) in macro-financial assistance" on condition that it agrees on a new cost-cutting plan with the IMF.
During his first official foreign tour, Yanukovych told reporters in Brussels that "European integration" was a priority for Ukraine's foreign policy.
Meanwhile, visiting World Bank Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Martin Raiser said the preparation and approval of a realistic national budget for 2010 must be among the new government's priority tasks. He suggested the government to foresee a decrease in budget expenses.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.