2 Mar 2011 17:55

Ukraine repaying previous govt's "astronomical" debts - PM

KYIV. March 2 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has described the country's debts as "astronomical" and blamed the previous government for piling them up.

"Our state has never had such an astronomical debt before, a lion's share of which are thoughtless loans, drawn in 2009 at almost 30% annually, Azarov told the Cabinet on Wednesday.

Payments on debts will amount to 10.5 billion hryvni in March, which is more than Ukraine spends each year on health care and preparations for the Euro-2012 football championship.

The peak of the payouts will fall on July, when 19 billion hryvni will have to be repaid, which is more than Ukraine will spend on education this year, Azarov said.