Ukrainian official resigns, says reform efforts blocked

February 3, 2016 at 9:57 a.m. | Updated February 3, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2014 file photo, Ukraine's newly-appointed Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius, a Lithuanian national, attends parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine. Abromavicius says routine efforts from government leadership to shoot down reforms— further damaging the country's already crippled economy— prompted him to resign from his post. Aivaras Abromavicius wrote in his resignation letter published on Wednesday Feb. 3, 2016 that Ukraine's leadership lacks the political will to enact much-needed changes and has routinely obstructed reforms. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2014 file photo, Ukraine's newly-appointed Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius, a Lithuanian national, attends parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine. Abromavicius says routine efforts from government leadership to shoot down reforms— further damaging the country's already crippled economy— prompted him to resign from his post. Aivaras Abromavicius wrote in his resignation letter published on Wednesday Feb. 3, 2016 that Ukraine's leadership lacks the political will to enact much-needed changes and has routinely obstructed reforms. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

MOSCOW (AP) - Ukraine's government, already under strain from political infighting, a frozen conflict in the country's east and a sagging economy, fell under scrutiny again on Wednesday when its economy minister handed in his resignation, saying the leadership routinely blocked his reform efforts.

The country's minister of economy Aivaras Abromavicius said he and his team could no longer drive forward much-needed reforms and received pushback on their efforts from government leaders including members of President Petro Poroshenko's party.

"My team and I have no desire to be a front for blatant corruption or puppets for people who want to take control over state funds as they did in the old government," Abromavicius told reporters at a press conference in Kiev. "It wasn't just a lack of political will. (They were) actively seeking to paralyze our work in the government."

Abromavicius, a Lithuanian native and former investment banker, advocated deregulation and wide-scale privatization in Ukraine. He was appointed as the finance minister 14 months ago along with a cadre of other political-newcomers from the private sector including finance minister Natalia Jaresko, an American. Their appointments were cautiously viewed as indicators that the new government would go through with long-overdue economic reforms.

However, the changes to Ukraine's government remain largely cosmetic and oligarchs still maintain huge sway in its decisions.

As he announced his resignation, Abromavicius said Ukraine needed a total reset of power.

"We know how Ukraine ended up in the condition that it's in today. It's not just Yanukovych, it's the total lack of reform over 20 years," he said in a reference to ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Abromavicius added that Igor Kononenko, a Poroshenko-ally in Ukraine's parliament, put pressure on the economy ministry to appoint his allies.

Kononenko told Ukrainian TV channel Espreso that Abromavicius' comments were false and his resignation "emotional."

Abromavicius' predecessor, Pavlo Sheremeta, resigned after spending under a year in office over frustrations with the slow pace of reforms.

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