Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in a telephone conversation that his country was ready to help Ukraine’s economy by selling the country oil products.

“The presidents have paid particular attention to the issue of supplying oil products from Belarus to Ukraine,” the Belarusian president’s press service said in a statement Monday. “Lukashenko said Belarus understands how acute this issue has become amid the harvest season, that’s why it will assist Ukraine in providing oil products for the needs of its economy.”

Ukraine has been hit by a severe political crisis following a string of anti-government protests back in November and a subsequent regime change, which took place in February as President Viktor Yanukovych was stripped of power. Since then, opponents of the new Kiev government centered in the country's southeastern regions have been calling for independence. The country’s economy, already in dire straits, was immediately affected by the political situation.

Back in April, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated that the Ukrainian government forecast GDP declining 3 percent in the current year, given 12-14 percent inflation.

Last month, Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Minister Pavlo Sheremeta said the forecast could be worsened by another 3-4 percentage points because of the situation in the southeast.


 

RIA Novosti