France Ready to Assist in Restoration of Eastern Ukraine’s Banking System

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that France could provide technical assistance in restoration of banking services to the population of the south-eastern regions of Ukraine.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Saturday expressed readiness to assist in restoration of banking system in Ukraine’s eastern regions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Fabius had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the ministry said in a statement published on its website.

"The French side confirmed its readiness to provide technical assistance in restoration of banking services to the population of the south-eastern regions of Ukraine," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Paris together with Berlin promised to help renew the banking system in eastern Ukraine in a joint declaration agreed by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine on February 12. The declaration is intended to support the measures toward Ukrainian reconciliation outlined by the leaders after talks in Minsk the same day.

In November 2014, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree, essentially imposing an economic blockade in southeastern Ukraine. The decree, in particular, stipulated the suspension of operation of state institutions and banks on the territories beyond the control of Kiev forces. The move left residents of Donbas without pensions and other social benefits.

Following the Ukrainian president's decision, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the presidential decree, saying that Kiev was “cutting off those territories with their own hands."

Both UN refugee agency and the Organization for Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have repeatedly voiced concerns over the cessation of social welfare payments in militia-controlled areas of Ukraine, saying it brought the region on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.