EU Will Continue Working with Ukraine Regardless of Whether Government Resigns - EU Ambassador

The EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, says that regardless of whether the Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk's resignation will be accepted, the European Union won't stop working with Ukraine.

"We – and I personally – have had a very good working relationship with the government of Ukraine, with several ministers. And, whichever way the political developments now go, this cooperation with the Ukrainian government will continue,"  Maasikas said.

He also highlighted that Honcharuk's unexpected move is only "proof of the vitality of the Ukrainian democracy."

READ MORE: EU Amb. Matti Maasikas Signals Closer Cooperation with Ukraine (INTERVIEW)

Early on January 17 Honcharuk announced on Facebook that he handed in a resignation letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He highlighted his loyalty to Zelenskyy, but said that the recent audio tape scandal – where he is allegedly heard saying that the president has a "primitive understanding of economics" – has created an illusion that he has no respect for Zelenskyy.

"In order to eradicate any doubts of our respect and loyalty for the President, I wrote a resignation letter, and passed it on to the President [who now has] the right to take it to the Parliament [for voting,]" Honcharuk wrote in his Facebook post.

Zelenskyy has not yet reacted to Honcharuk's decision bar a note from his team that the letter was received. Yet, according to Hromadske's sources within the government and the head of the Servant of the People presidential faction, Honcharuk's resignation would not be supported in the parliament and, therefore, is not possible.

READ MORE: Ukraine Prime Minister Honcharuk Hands in Resignation

For the full transcript of the interview, follow this link.

/By Nataliya Gumenyuk and Maria Romanenko