UK Deputy Foreign Secretary Wendy Morton has said the UK, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the US will be the founders of the organization
Britain’s Deputy Foreign Secretary Wendy Morton said Tuesday in Kiev, where she was attending a celebration of Ukraine’s 30th anniversary of independence, that Britain, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the US would create a fund to counter Russian influence in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions, it was reported.
“Today in Kiev, UK Under Secretary of State for European Neighbourhoods Wendy Morton announced the creation of a new Partnership for a Strong Ukraine fund”, – the UK, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the US will help mitigate Russia’s destabilising influence on the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, according to a post on the British Embassy in Kiev’s Facebook page.”
The Partnership for a Strong Ukraine fund will launch by December and is expected to raise up to £35 million (about $50 million) from donors over three years.
“Funding will be directed towards initiatives to strengthen the capacity of conflict-affected regions, such as providing technical advice to authorities or grant investments that create economic opportunities and improve access to public services for residents in southern and eastern Ukraine”, – the UK embassy in Kyiv said in a statement.
According to British diplomats, “this should lead to improved public services, increased household incomes and better links between divided communities.