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Ukraine PM suggests possible government reshuffle in near future

by Reuters
Wednesday, 30 April 2014 18:16 GMT

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KIEV, April 30 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk threatened his government on Wednesday with a reshuffle if it failed to meet the demands of the people, venting frustration with Kiev's failure to restore law and order in the country's east.

With Kiev's authority crumbling in its industrial eastern regions, where pro-Russian separatists have seized buildings with little opposition from police, some critics say the central government has become all but paralysed by infighting.

"The country demands action and results. If there is such action and results that means the government is doing its job," Yatseniuk told a government meeting.

"If in the near future such action and results fail to appear, that means there will be personnel changes."

Yatseniuk said he hoped a decision from the International Monetary Fund later on Wednesday on a $17 billion bailout would be "positive" and offer a much-needed boost to his government, which has been blighted by sometimes contradictory messages.

He said ministers would also pass to parliament a law on conducting a nationwide poll on Ukrainian unity and territorial integrity, "those questions which worry Ukraine today", on May 25 when Ukraine is due to hold a presidential election.

The poll is non-binding but an attempt to thwart the demands of pro-Russian rebels to hold a referendum on independence on May 11 for at least two eastern regions. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets, writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Mark Heinrich)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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