REUTERS
According to Groysman, Ukraine must pay off debts and accumulate funds to improve the living standards.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says Ukraine in March paid $1.4 billion of budget funds on external debts.
"As for the single treasury account – we survived the first quarter, and in March, to your attention, the Ukrainian government paid $1.4 billion on external debts. Of course, we need external support," he said during a traditional Government Q&A session in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday.
According to Groysman, Ukraine must pay its debts and accumulate funds to improve the lives of citizens.
"I want us to pay off all our debts, become an independent state, so that we stop giving back what was taken before us, and start accumulating what we will give to Ukrainian citizens," Groysman stressed.
Groysman earlier said the country's external debt accounts for 83% of GDP.
The government stipulated the state debt around 84.6% of GDP in the 2018 national budget. Previously, Groysman said that Ukraine spent 4% of GDP for paying off its external debt, that is over UAH 100 billion ($3.5 billion) annually.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2018 plans to borrow UAH 91.2 billion ($3.2 billion) at an average weighted rate of 9% per annum.