WASHINGTON, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine will need considerable help from Russia and the United States to have the country restored from the current crisis, former US Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller said.
"It's going to take several years to recover from this period of turmoil, political unrest, revolution which is moving in the positive direction," Miller told RIA Novosti Wednesday. "But it will have to receive considerable help from the world institutions and from Russia as well as the United States, and Europe – all will have to work to restore Ukraine."
Miller believes that the political reasons for the revolution are clear, and the remedies are being pursued.
"So I think after few years Ukraine will be back on track," he concluded.
As a result of the ongoing political crisis in the country, Ukraine is currently on the verge of a default. Kiev authorities are trying to rescue the country's economy through international loans, including a $17 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To receive this financial support, Ukraine earlier agreed to a severe austerity program that includes raising taxes and selling off state assets.
President Poroshenko said that IMF executive directors were to decide on a new financial assistance program for Ukraine and submit it to Kiev by mid-December.
In May, Ukraine received the first tranche of the IMF loan measuring $3.16 billion, with the second installment of $1.4 billion coming in early September. The IMF said Kiev might need an additional $19 billion loan if clashes in the east continued.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Saturday that Kiev could use money, provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international lenders to cover a shortfall in the funds earmarked for the purchase of the Russian natural gas supplies.
