Ukraine appoints pro-Western parliament speaker as new PM

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukraine's parliament on Thursday, April 14 appointed pro-Western speaker Volodymyr Groysman as Prime Minister in a bid to end months of political gridlock and unlock vital aid to the war torn-state, AFP reports.

Lawmakers voted by 257 to 50 to approve the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk -- condemned by President Petro Poroshenko for losing the public's trust -- and select Groysman in the first cabinet overhaul since Ukraine's 2014 pro-EU revolt.

"I understand my responsibilities," the 38-year-old Groysman told deputies shortly before the vote.

He vowed to "ensure the permanence of our course toward European integration" and oversee a government "that does not tolerate corruption."

The fast-rising new premier is a Poroshenko protégé who only two years ago served as mayor of the small western Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia and remained a relative unknown.

Groysman was elected to parliament on Poroshenko's party ticket in October 2014 and became speaker the following month.

He is seen as a coalition builder who has gained stature by keeping the notoriously rowdy parliament -- prone to ugly brawls -- in relative peace.

He has also pronounced himself strongly committed to the belt-tightening measures prescribed by the International Monetary Fund when it approved a $17.5-billion (15.4-billion-euro) rescue package for Ukraine in March 2014.