Ukraine: Expected composition of Mr. Groisman's new cabinet

RBK-Ukraine news agency quoted a source from the Ukrainian Presidential Office on April 12 saying that current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of the country Vladimir Groisman has agreed to head the cabinet.

Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Groysman (right, above) during a session of the Parliament in the capital Kiev on March 29. (Source: AFP/VNA)

According to the source, during the negotiations, President Petro Poroshenko warned that if Mr. Groisman did not accept, the President would nominate Mr. Yuriy Lutsenko as Prime Minister.

Disagreements arose between Mr. Groisman and the President's team. Mr. Groisman wanted to include his own people in the cabinet and refused to include Deputy Chief of Staff of the President Vitaly Kovalchuk or Governor of Kharkiv, Igor Rainin, in the new cabinet.

Media reports said President Poroshenko also proposed the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Aleksander Turchinov, as Prime Minister, but he declined. Groisman later accepted Kovalchuk as First Deputy Prime Minister.

At the same time, Groisman can appoint 5 ministers from his "Vinnitsa team" (the city where he previously served as Mayor).

In particular, Vladimir Kistiona, Alexander Reva, Alexander Saenko and Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Yulia Kovaliv, who will head the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Maxim Nefedov will take over as Minister of Health.

At the same time, the Ministry of Finance will be headed by Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration Alexander Danyluk.

Previously, MP Mustafa Nye said Mr. Groisman refused to head the new government due to disagreements over cabinet composition.

According to VIETNAM+