REUTERS

U.S. Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan has called on Ukraine to double its efforts in implementing reform, set up an independent anti-corruption court and raise gas tariffs, according to U.S. State Department speaker Heather Nauert.

"Today, Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression," Nauert tweeted.

"Acting Secretary Sullivan urged Ukraine to redouble reform efforts and adhere to IMF programs by adopting legislation to establish a truly independent anti-corruption court and raising gas tariffs to import parity levels," she wrote in a separate tweet.

Видео дня

Read alsoKlimkin at G7 FM meeting to speak of Ukrainian political prisoners in RussiaAs UNIAN reported earlier, on March 28, the Cabinet of Ministers decided not to raise gas prices for households starting April. The issue of the raise has been on the agenda of Ukraine's talks with the International Monetary Fund. The Fund insists that the cost of gas should be raised (equal) to the level of import parity. At the moment, the price should be raised some 30% to fulfill the requirement.

According to an UNIAN source familiar with the Ukraine-IMF talks, the Ukrainian government in the framework of its talks with the Fund offered a number of options for a more gradual raising of gas prices, while the IMF reportedly rejected all of them.