US Embassy Refutes Ukraine Prosecutor's Claim US Ambassador Gave Him 'Not Prosecute' List

Sumaira FH Published March 21, 2019 | 03:41 PM

The US Embassy in Kiev refuted on Thursday the recent claim of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko that US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch had presented him with a list of people he should not prosecute

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2019) The US Embassy in Kiev refuted on Thursday the recent claim of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko that US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch had presented him with a list of people he should not prosecute.

Lutsenko said in an interview with Hill.TV, released on Wednesday, that Yovanovitch, appointed in 2016, had given him this list during their first meeting. The prosecutor slammed the move as "unacceptable." He also said that the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine had not received the around $4 million that the US embassy was expected to provide.

The claims of Ukrainian prosecutor general are not true and aim at damaging the reputation of Ambassador Yovanovitch, the embassy said, as cited by Ukrainian news website TSN.

The embassy slammed Lutsenko's accusations against Yovanovitch as corruption and pledged to continue supporting reforms in Ukraine.

It voiced the belief that Ukraine needed loyal officials and strong anti-corruption institutions in order to achieve success, stressing that Washington was complying strictly to all of its obligations, including those related to financial support for Ukraine.

The US State Department has denied Lutsenko's allegations as "an outright fabrication."