Talks on aid for Ukraine begin, Russia skeptical about the legitimacy of new government

FXStreet (Łódź) - Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos stressed today that it was crucial to avoid Ukraine's disorderly default, which could lead to the country's disintegration, after interim president Oleksandr Turchynov called for financial help of approximately 35 billion dollars on Monday.

The IMF has already offered aid to Ukraine, in exchange for reforms. The EU is also willing to participate in the rescue and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton traveled to Kiev to discuss the economic situation.

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Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who took part in the peace talks on Friday, assured that "there is a huge amount of macroeconomic assistance available for Ukraine as soon as Ukraine concludes an agreement with the IMF." He also urged Russia not to withdraw their bailout for the distressed country.

Meanwhile, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev questioned on Monday the legitimacy of the new acting government in Ukraine.

“Some of our foreign partners think otherwise. I don’t know what constitution they have read, but it is something of an aberration of consciousness when you describe as legitimate something that is the result of an armed uprising,” he stressed. He added however that Russia would maintain all the agreements with Ukraine, those on provision of gas included.